The collapse of the ceiling of a popular nightclub in the Dominican Capital killed at least 218 people, authorities said on Wednesday night, while the search for survivors became increasingly difficult.
The nightclub collapsed on Tuesday (8) and, for two days, families gathered outside the wreckage of the Jet Set club in Santo Domingo, eager for information about their missing relatives and sharing photos with the police.
“We won’t leave anyone,” Juan Manuel Mendez, head of the country’s emergency operations center, said at a press conference.
Emergency teams will continue to work until the last body is found, but hopes of finding more survivors under the rubble is decreasing, as no one has been removed alive in more than 24 hours, Mendez added.
“In the coming hours, there will be a transition from the search and rescue phase to the body recovery phase,” said Presidential spokesman Homero Figueroa in a statement.
The families were still hopeful. With dozens of other people, Alex de Leon was looking for his ex-wife, mother of her two children and a close friend in common in the region near the nightclub.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have information about where they are,” he said. “My 15 -year -old son is devastated, and the 9 -year -old remains calm because we warn that his mother is at work.”
Relatives and friends of people who are still missing showed their photos and described the clothes they wore when the tragedy happened, hoping it will help identify their loved ones if they were disfigured.
Earlier on Wednesday (10), the authorities reported that 155 people were rescued from the rubble and transferred to hospitals. The exact number of people in the club at the time of collapse is not yet clear.
From celebration to tragedy
The tragedy took place during a show by the popular Dominican singer Rubby Perez. The event, which attracted politicians, athletes and other prominent figures, became a nightmare after midnight when the ceiling suddenly collapsed.
Pérez was one of the victims and the Ministry of Culture announced that he will pay tribute on Thursday (10) to honor his memory as “one of the great art figures of the country” and the meringue scene.
The families of the victims whose bodies have already been recovered began to perform their funerals.
President Luis Abinader appeared to the funeral ceremony on Wednesday (9) of Nelsy Cruz, governor of the province of Monte Cristi, in the north of the country, and sister of former MLB player Nelson Cruz, seven times All-Star.
“We are mourning for her and the other victims,” Abinader said during the service.
Throwing Octavio Dotel and rebate Tony Blanco, both former baseball league players, have also died.
The son of the Minister of Public Works and Communications also died in the disaster.
This content was originally published the number of dead in the Dominican Republic on the CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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