By Martín Adames Alcántara and Dánica Coto
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (AP) – A crowd of people got more and more agitated on Wednesday when they were waiting at the Medical Institute of the Dominican Republic for the news of their loved ones which they still miss a day after a roof in an emblematic nightclub in the capital, killing at least 124 and injuring hundreds more.
Managers of the National Institute of Medico-Legal Pathology read the names of 54 people they had identified so far.
“We cannot wait until night!” said a woman who was waiting for the news of a parent whose name she has not heard. “We are going to go crazy!”
The authorities called for calm, saying that they had already delivered 28 bodies to their family but had no total count of all the bodies yet because an ambulance had just arrived with several others.
“The authorities sell us false dreams!” Shouted José Sánchez, whose brother and brother-in-law were still missing.
Collapse
The legendary Jet Set Club in Santo Domingo was filled with musicians, professional athletes and civil servants when the dust started to fall from the ceiling and in the drinks of people early on Tuesday.
A few minutes later, the entire roof collapsed. Concrete slabs have killed a few dozen instantly and trapped others on a dancefloor where hundreds danted at a living concert. In the minutes that followed, the country’s 911 system received more than 100 calls, many people buried under rubble.
The victims include the Merengue icon, Rubby Pérez, who had sang at the crowd before the disaster strikes. His body was found early Wednesday, said emergency operations director Juan Manuel Méndez.
The rescue teams are still looking for survivors more than 24 hours after collapse. The officials said on Wednesday that they had saved 145 people from the wreck in the nightclub.
“As long as they point out that there is a missing person, we will be here,” said Mendez.
Puerto Rico and Israel rescue teams arrived on Wednesday to help research. The officials said that the crews used Sonar to detect what could be a person who still breathes under the rubble.
The mayor of Santo Domingo, Carolina Mejía, praised what she said to be acts of love, including a Dominican who distributed coffee to those on the scene and a man from Costa Rica who was on vacation but joined research because he is part of a rescue team at home.
The victims
Until now, only a few dozen people have been identified in one of the worst disasters to strike the Dominican Republic. Local media reported that those who died include a cardiologist, a government architect, a retired police officer and the brother of the Minister of the Ministry of Youth.
MLB Octavio Dotel and Dominican player Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera, Satosky Terrero, spokesperson for the country’s professional baseball league, were also killed.
Nelsy Cruz, governor of the north-west province of Montecristi and sister of the seven discount of the Major Baseball League stars, Nelson Cruz, alerted President Luis Abinader about the disaster. She called him under the rubble but died later in a hospital.
The other victims include the saxophonist Luis Solís, who was playing on stage when the roof fell, the fashion designer based in New York Martín Polyco, several Venezuelans barmen and an army captain who left four young girls. Grupo Popular, a financial service company, said that three of its employees are also deceased, including the president of AFP Popular Bank and his wife.
Countless others remain unidentified.
“I have gone to many hospitals and I haven’t found it,” said Deysi Suriel about her friend, Milca Curiel, 61, who lived in North Carolina and was on vacation in the Dominican Republic.
Research
Dozens of frantic parents listened to the managers read aloud a list of victims identified at the Institute of Legal Medicine, while others went from hospital to hospital in search of their loved ones, some by holding photos.
“Francisco Alberto Méndez … Rosa Herminia Pérez … Ramón Teodoro Jiménez … Juan Manuel Santana”, said an official when the crowd was tending to listen.
“Here! Here!” cried a person when hearing the name of his beloved.
Later, officials said they had at least 33 bodies they could not identify.
“This is a very traumatic situation,” said national legislator Pedro Martínez, who has also disappeared.
Among those looking for friends and family, there was Kimberly Jones, whose godson, the 45 -year -old artist Osiris Blanc, and his friends were missing.
“It was their favorite place, they went there almost every Monday,” said Jones, adding that his niece also lacked.
It was not immediately clear which caused the roof collapse, or when the Jet Set building was inspected for the last time.
The club has published a statement saying that it was cooperating with the authorities. A spokesperson for the family owner of the club told the Associated Press that she has sent questions about potential inspections.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Works referred questions to the mayor’s office. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office did not respond to a request for comments.
Coto reported in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
