The number of deaths during the collapse of Tuesday’s nightclub in the Dominican Republic continued to grow steadily, as rescue workers using heavy machinery, aircraft and dogs worked at night in a frantic attempt to find survivors.
By Wednesday morning, at least 113 people had died, after the roof suddenly fell at 12:45 am. During a concert in the jet set, a popular nightclub at Santo Domingo. Monday’s Night’s Party was a decades tradition of frequented by one who is the Dominican society-many of whom were still trapped in.
They were either killed or injured during the Merengue concert was a ruler, a member of the Congress of the Dominican Republic and two former US baseball players.
“There are not enough words to express the pain that causes this event,” said the owner of the Antonio Espaillat club in a video published in the social media. “What happened was catastrophic for everyone.”
Officials said they focused on the rescue and had not yet begun to investigate the cause of the tragedy. The building, a former film theater, was at least 50 years old and was the scene of a fire several years ago.
Authorities said it was not clear how many people were at the time of the collapse. The victims were still taken by the ruins, the living and the dead.
With every gloomy briefing, the fear of death went up.
In a number of social media positions, officials said that rescuers had at least 155 trips to local hospitals.
So many people were injured that ambulances had to initially had to take two or three to the hospital each time, said Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the emergency business center, in a video of the National Police.
“We go out the people we can save alive,” Mr Méndez said. “You can hear people asking to be helped.”
The jet set, which has been open for 50 years, is one of the most famous clubs in the Dominican Republic. It is well known for showing them on Monday, a major living musician in the city.
Anxious family members gathered on stage under a burning sun, desperate for news for their loved ones. Some people said they had up to seven relatives missing after the disaster.
Among those at the nightclub was Nelsy M. Cruz MartÃnez, governor of the province of Dominican province Monte Cristi, an area northwest of the country near the border with Haiti.
Ms Cruz called President Luis Abinader at 12:49 am, while she was trapped in the ruins, First Mrs. Raquel P. Arbaje, to reporters on stage.
Mrs Cruz later died in a hospital, Mr Abinader said outside the club on Tuesday morning.
“We are deeply sorry with the tragedy that happened at the Jet nightclub,” Mr Abinader told X. “We watched the incident minute since the minute since it happened.”
Octavio Dotel, 51, a former pitcher in the big championships, was pulled out of the ruins and transferred to a hospital. He later died, the Dominican Republic of Basketball Association announced.
Another former Major League baseball player, Tony Blanco, also died, the Major League Baseball Commissioner confirmed in a statement.
Several members of the Dominican Congress were considered to be in the club and several legislators went to the area.
Carlos J. Gil RodrÃguez, who represents Santo Domingo in Congress, was injured and required urgent surgery, his office said. His wife was injured and released by the hospital, but his two assistants who were also at the event were not found.
“My dear brother!” One woman shouted when she learned that her brother had not survived.
Another woman, Yeheris Ventura, stole as she described the stress of not listening to her husband, Gálver Silvestre, who was in the club and whose name was not from the list of survivors or dead.
Monday’s show described Rubby Pérez, a Merengue singer.
The videos circulating in the social media and verified by the New York Times showed that Mr Pérez is running before a group of renewed. The camera began to swing and people began to scream as a large chandelier fell from the ceiling.
Another video, shot after the subsequent and also verified by the Times, occupied the widespread disaster, showing that almost the entire roof had collapsed, with the ruins covering the dancing stage and floor, as rescuers were looking for debris.
Although authorities had announced that the singer was in the hospital, one of his brothers said that the reports were incorrect and that the entertainer remained in the ruins, 14 hours after collapse. Mr Pérez is not found, Mr Méndez confirmed late Tuesday afternoon.
The son of the country’s public works minister and his wife are still missing, authorities said.
“But we hope to God and pray for favorable results,” Minister Eduardo Estrella said in a statement.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, younger, published a statement that offers condolences on the death of Mrs Cruz and the two former players, noting that Ms Cruz was the sister of Nelson Cruz, a long -term player and today’s expert.
“The connection between baseball and the Dominican Republic is running deeply and we think of all the Dominican players and fans all over the game today,” he said.
Carlos Mendoza DÃaz, president of the Dominican Union of Engineers, Architects and Inspectors, said the Jet building had been decades and had recently been damaged.
“We have gathered information that it was not just a structure over 50, it was built for a movie theater and later turned into a nightclub and obviously these are different security parameters,” he said. “We also know that a fire happened a few years ago, and perhaps the combination of these events could cause collapse.”
Nader ibrahimAmelia Nierenberg and Jonathan Wolfe contributed to the report.
