Until Thursday afternoon, the morgue performed 123 autopsies out of a total of 221 bodies recovered among the rubble of the jet set nightclub, which collapsed on the 8th during a show by merengue singer Rubby Pérez
Trying to expedite, on Friday (11), the autopsies and the release of the bodies of more than 200 victims of the collapse of the nightclub in Santo Domingo, while desperate family members gather outside the morgue. The authorities settled around six Forensic Medicine Tents. All are full of people who are sheltering from heavy rain while waiting for news from their loved ones. The people who work to identify the victims locate them with a megaphone. The names of the victims also appear on a list designed in a big screen.
Until Thursday afternoon, the morgue performed 123 autopsies out of a total of 221 bodies recovered among the rubble of the Jet Set nightclub, which collapsed on April 8 during a show by merengue singer Rubby Pérez. Pérez is among the dead, as well as a governor and two former baseball players. They were rescued with life 189 people. Family members require speed; Some get up and protest. The government calls for patience. “They gave us a body that was not her,” protested Julio Alberto Acosta, who lost his stepdaughter in the tragedy. “We gave us a bag and we said we would have to open it to see if it was her, but it wasn’t her.”
“We want to give us what it really is, so that your mother will see and will bury her,” he said.
“Desperator”
The government reported that it has temporarily hired 12 coroners to speed up autopsies and the release of bodies. “No one will be unidentified and no one will be unanswered,” said Health Minister Victor Atallah. “Let’s move every stone that needs to be moved.” The body of Yuni García’s brother appeared on Thursday in the morning. He worked at Jet Set as security for 10 years. “It was the last place where they sought and took rubble,” García told AFP. “I knew he’s in a cold room and will take him up to make the autopsy (…) he’s desperate!” He said tears.
The government extended national mourning for another three days and announced the creation of a commission of national and international experts to investigate the causes of what is considered the worst tragedy of recent years in the Caribbean country. The City Hall of the National District of the Capital provided six funeral homes with 170 coffins free of charge.
Farewell
Aerial images show the huge hole left by the collapsed ceiling of the nightclub and, in the middle, air conditioning machines and tons weighed. More than 300 people worked to remove the rubble, along with a crane. Hydraulic hammers were also used and two dogs helped detect human traces.
“It’s time to clarify and act prudence,” said Presidential spokesman Homero Figueroa. “This technical study will be conducted with total transparency.” The neighboring city of Haina organized a collective funeral for about 20 people on Thursday in a basketball court. In Neyba, about 300 km from the capital, funerals were held this Friday. At the Santo Domingo National Theater, a crowd in tears and with songs said goodbye to the star of the merengue Rubby Pérez.
*With information from AFP
Posted by Fernando Dias
