The collapse of a nightclub ceiling in the capital of the Dominican Republic killed at least 113 people on Tuesday (8), while emergency teams work to remove survivors from the rubble.
About 155 people were injured.
Families of the victims gathered near the jet set nightclub in search of information about loved ones.
“I still have family members who are still under the rubble and we don’t know what happened to them,” said Pedro Martinez, a 17 -seasion player by Major League Baseball, in a video shared on his Instagram account at night.
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Among the dead are a popular singer, the governor of a province and former Major League Baseball, Octavio Dotel, the authorities said.
Juan Manuel Mendez, head of the Dominican Republic Emergency Operations Center, said on Tuesday that the exact number of people in the club at the time of collapse was not yet clear.
The ability of emergency teams has been expanded because “more heavy equipment was used to accelerate the removal of rubble and continuing search efforts,” said Presidential spokesman Homero Figuero in a statement.
The disaster took place during a show by the popular Dominican merengue singer Rubby Perez, whose body was found on the morning of Wednesday (9), according to the authorities.
The event was attended by politicians, athletes and other prominent figures.
The son of the Dominican Minister of Public Works and Communications, Eduardo Estrella, Eduardo Guarionex Estrella, was also found among the dead on Wednesday, authorities said.
Another victim was Nelsy Cruz, governor of the province of Monte Cristi, in the north of the country, said President Luis Abinader. Cruz was the sister of former baseball player Nelson Cruz, seven times MLB All-Star.
Former MLB Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco players also died in the collapse, local authorities confirmed.
Dotel died on his way to a local hospital after being removed from the rubble, said a spokesman for the country’s Ministry of Sport.
The 51-year-old former player debuted for the New York Mets in 1999 and played in several teams until 2013.
“Thinking about our people in the Dominican Republic,” said Carlos Mendoza, METS coach, at a news conference.
Family members were receiving psychological support and the cause of ceiling collapsing continued under investigation, the authorities reported.
This content was originally published to 113 the number of dead in the Dominican Republic on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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