Almost 12 hours after the top of the disco have collapsed on customers, the rescue teams were still removing survivors from the rubble
At least 44 people died and 160 were injured in San Domingo, Dominican Republic, at dawn on Tuesday, when the ceiling of a disco collapsed, authorities said.
Rescue teams continue to search for possible survivors in the rubble of the Jet Set disco in Santo Domingo, Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Emergency Operations Center, said.
“We assume that many of them are still alive, which is why the authorities here will not give up until there is a single person under the rubble,” Méndez said.
The disco is frequented by politicians, sports athletes, among many other people when the ceiling collapsed as they watched a meringue concert.
Almost 12 hours after the top of the disco have collapsed on customers, rescue teams were still removing survivors from the rubble.
At the scene, the firefighters removed blocks of broken concrete and sawed wooden boards to use them like boards to lift the heavy rubble, while the noise of the drills from the concrete filled the air.
Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the province of Monte Cristi, in the northwest of the country, and the sister of a famous baseball player Nelson Cruz, were among the victims.
Among the injured are another former Major League player Baseball (the US Baseball Professional League) Octavio Dotel, Legislator Bray Vargas and Merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who performed when the ceiling collapsed, according to authorities.
The disco is famous for its concerts and parties held on Mondays, which are frequented by local celebrities.
Pérez agent Enrique Paulino, whose shirt was spotted with blood, told reporters at the scene that the concert began shortly before midnight and the ceiling fell about an hour later, killing the group’s saxophonist.
“It happened so fast. I managed to throw myself into a corner,” Paulino said, adding that he initially thought it was an earthquake.
“We deeply regret the tragedy in the jet set nightclub. We have been following the minute by minute. From the beginning. All relief agencies have provided the necessary assistance and are tirelessly participating in rescue efforts. Our prayers are with families affected,” said Dominican President Luis Abinader, on social network X.
Abinader arrived at the place of collapse and embraced those who were looking for friends and family, but did not speak to reporters.
A local authority had a loud of the disco door to beg for the crowd, who gathered at the scene to look for friends and family, to make room for ambulances.
“You have to cooperate with the authorities, please. We are removing people” from the site, the authority said.
In one of the hospitals where the injured were taken, an authority was reading the names of the survivors, while a crowd joined around him and shouted the names of his loved ones.
The authorities are still unaware of the causes of the collapse of the disco ceiling.
