A devastating roof collapse at a popular nightclub in the capital of the Dominican Republic has claimed at least 200 lives, authorities said late on Wednesday, as the search for survivors turned increasingly grim.
The nightclub collapsed on Tuesday, and for two days, families have gathered outside the wreckage of the Jet Set club in Santo Domingo, anxious for information about their missing relatives and sharing photos with police.
“We are not going to abandon nobody,” Juan Manuel Mendez, head of the country’s emergency operations centre, said at a press conference.
Emergency crews will continue to work until the last body is found, but hopes of finding more survivors under the rubble were diminishing while no one had been pulled out alive in more than 24 hours, Mendez added.
Families continued to hold out hope. Along with dozens of others, Alex de Leon was looking for his ex-wife, the mother of their two children, and a close mutual friend in the area surrounding the nightclub.
Earlier on Wednesday, authorities reported that 155 people had been rescued from the rubble and transferred to hospitals. The exact number of people inside the club at the time of the collapse remained unclear.
From celebration to tragedy
The tragedy unfolded during a concert by popular Dominican singer Rubby Perez. The event, which had drawn politicians, athletes, and other prominent figures, turned into a nightmare after midnight as the roof suddenly collapsed.
President Luis Abinader attended the funeral ceremony on Wednesday of Nelsy Cruz, governor of the northern Monte Cristi province and sister of former MLB player Nelson Cruz, a seven-time All-Star.
