Cnn
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The rescuers run to reach around 100 people still trapped under rubble after the roof of a nightclub in the Dominican Republic collapsed during a musical performance occupied in the early hours of Tuesday, killing at least 44 and wounding tens more.
So far, at least 146 people have been withdrawn from the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, the country’s capital, said Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the emergency operations center. When the roof collapsed, at least 300 people were inside the site, he added.
The families of the disappeared gathered on the scene and shared photos of their relatives, while more than 150 ambulances precipitated the injured in the hospital. Staff of at least 22 public institutions are on the site to help response efforts, officials said.
The cause of collapse is not yet known.
Aerial images of local media on Tuesday morning showed the place with a large gaping hole in the middle of the building where the public would have been located during the performance.
Among the dead was Nelsy Cruz, governor of the province of Monte Cristi, said Dominican president Luis Abinader. Cruz was linked to the MLB All-Star Nelson Cruz, according to a declaration by his family crying for his death.
The roof collapsed around 1 hour, while Merengue Rubby Pérez and his orchestra occurred on stage, the authorities said.
Images of the interior of the place seem to show the moment when the crisis took place.
A video shows that the group occurs while someone near the stage points out that something had fallen at the back of the club. A few moments later, the suspensions suspended from the ceiling begin to collapse, as well as the entire roof above. The cries and sounds that crash can be heard for a few seconds before the video is dark.
Pérez’s daughter told local media that her father had survived the collapse. She said that the rescuers found her sing under the rubble. “He started singing so that they could hear him,” she said.
The former MLB launcher and champion of the World Series Octavio Dotel was also found alive and taken to the hospital to be treated, said Méndez. Meanwhile, the son of the Minister of Public Works Eduardo Estrella is one of the missing, added Méndez.
Abinader said three days of mourning after the disaster. He went to the nightclub later Tuesday morning with his wife, the first lady Raquel Arbaje, to express her condolences to the victims.
“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred in the Jet Set nightclub,” wrote abinad on X. “All rescue agencies have provided the necessary assistance and work tirelessly in rescue efforts. Our prayers are with affected families.”
Carolina Mejía de Garrigó, the mayor of the city, said that Santo Domingo woke up “to a terrible tragedy”, offering his condolences to families “always waiting for the news of their loved ones”.
The Jet Set nightclub is one of the most famous sites in the Caribbean nation, and its Monday evening events are particularly well frequented.
This is a story in development and will be updated.
