The death toll after a roof collapsed at an iconic nightclub in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, surged to 184 late Wednesday, with friends and families beginning to mourn some of the victims.
With hopes of finding potential survivors fading, dozens of people lingered outside the Dominican Republic’s forensic institute for news of their loved ones still missing.
Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Center of Emergency Operations, said crews at the scene were still looking for victims and potential survivors, although no one has been found alive since Tuesday afternoon.
“We’re not going to abandon anyone. Our work will continue,” he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, officials from the National Institute of Forensic Pathology read the names of 54 victims they had identified so far.
“We cannot wait until nighttime!” said one woman who was waiting for news of a relative whose name she did not hear. “We’re going to go crazy!”
Rescue teams called for calm, saying they had already delivered at least 28 bodies to their families but did not yet have a tally of all the bodies recovered.
Shortly after, authorities raised the number of dead to at least 184, with over 200 injured.
“The authorities are selling us false dreams!” cried out José Sánchez, whose brother and brother-in-law were still missing.
Some of the identified victims
The Jet Set club in Santo Domingo, which has operated for nearly five decades, was packed with musicians, professional athletes, and government officials when dust began falling from the ceiling and into people’s drinks early Tuesday.
The entire roof collapsed right after, with concrete slabs killing some instantly and trapping dozens on the dance floor, where hundreds had been dancing to a lively merengue concert.
More than 100 calls, many from persons buried beneath debris, were placed to the nation’s 911 system in the minutes that followed.
Some of the victims include merengue icon Rubby Pérez, who had been singing to the crowd before disaster struck. His body was found early Wednesday, said emergency operations director Juan Manuel Méndez.
Also killed were former MLB pitcher Octavio Dotel and Dominican player Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera, the Dominican Republic’s Professional Baseball League said.
The country’s president, Luis Abinader, was informed of the tragedy by Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwest province of Montecristi, who was trapped but rescued from the debris. She later died in a hospital during surgery.
Following the rescue of 145 people from the nightclub’s ruins, the authorities on Wednesday announced they were entering a recovery phase aimed at finding bodies.
It is still unknown what caused the roof to fall.
