Santo Domingo: A catastrophic roof collapse at a packed nightclub in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, has left at least 184 people dead, authorities confirmed late Wednesday, as the operation shifted from rescue to recovery.
The Jet Set nightclub, a popular entertainment venue, crumbled during a concert late Tuesday night. For two consecutive days, desperate family members have gathered outside the ruins, sharing photos with police and pleading for news about their missing loved ones.
“We are not going to abandon nobody,” said Juan Manuel Mendez, head of the country’s emergency operations center, during a press briefing.
Emergency responders have continued to work tirelessly at the site, but hopes of finding more survivors have been fading. No one has been rescued alive in more than 24 hours.
“In the coming hours there will be a transition from a search and rescue phase to the recovery of the bodies phase,” presidential spokesperson Homero Figueroa said in a statement.
Many families are still clinging to hope. Among them is Alex de Leon, who was searching for his ex-wife—the mother of their two children—as well as a close friend who was also at the nightclub during the collapse.
“Unfortunately I don’t have any information about where they are,” he said. “My 15-year-old son is devastated, and the little one who is 9 remains calm because we’ve told him that his mom is at work.”
Friends and relatives of the missing stood nearby, holding up photographs and describing what their loved ones had been wearing in hopes of aiding identification efforts, especially in cases where bodies were disfigured.
Authorities earlier reported that 155 people had been pulled from the debris and taken to nearby hospitals. However, the total number of individuals inside the venue at the time of the incident remains uncertain.
From Celebration to Catastrophe
The collapse occurred during a live performance by beloved Dominican singer Rubby Perez. The concert had attracted an array of public figures, including politicians and athletes, turning the event into a high-profile tragedy when the roof gave way just after midnight.
Perez was among those who perished in the collapse. The Ministry of Culture has announced it will host a tribute on Thursday to honor him as “one of the great figures of the country’s art” and the merengue music scene.
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Funeral services have already begun for some victims. President Luis Abinader attended the ceremony for Nelsy Cruz, the governor of Monte Cristi province and sister of retired MLB star Nelson Cruz.
“We are left to mourn her and the other victims,” the president said at the service.
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Other prominent figures lost in the disaster include former Major League Baseball players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco, as well as the son of the public works and communications minister.
As the nation reels from one of its deadliest peacetime tragedies, authorities have promised a thorough investigation into the cause of the collapse and possible lapses in structural safety protocols at the venue.
