The legendary Jet Set club in Santo Domingo was full of musicians, professional athletes and state officials, when the dust began to fall from the ceiling and on the drinks of people.
A few minutes later The roof collapsed. Concrete slabs killed at least 113 people and trapped dozens of others on the dance floor, where hundreds danced to the lively concert of Merengue on Tuesday. The authorities reported that over 255 people were injured.
The victims are the merengue Rubby Pérez icon, which sang to the crowd before the disaster hit. His body was found early on Wednesday, said Emergency Operation Director Juan Manuel Méndez.
Rescue crews were still looking for potential survivors over 24 hours after falling.
“As long as they say that he is a missing person, we will be here,” said Méndez.
Rescue crews from Puerto Rico and Israel came to the Dominican Republic on Wednesday to help the local authorities in search.
Late on Tuesday evening those who are still looking for family and friends gathered around a man playing the guitar in front of the club, singing hymns.
Only 32 people have been identified so far
Until now, only 32 people have been identified in one of the worst disasters to hit the Dominican Republic. Local media announced that those who died is a cardiologist, government architect, retired police officer and brother of the deputy minister of the Youth Ministry.
He also killed the MLB, Octavio Dotel and Dominican Republic Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera, Satosy Terrero, spokesman for the professional baseball league in the country, said The Associated Press.
Nelsa Cruz, Governor of the North West Province of Montecristi and sister of the seven-time Major League baseball star, Nelson Cruz, informed President Luis Abinader about the disaster. She called him from the debris, but she died later in the hospital.
According to officials, dozens of people do not live after the roof falls at the Dominican Republic Night Club during the concert on Tuesday. Rescuers are still looking for victims in ruins, and the crews still pull out the survivors almost 12 hours after falling.
Other victims are the saxophonist Luis Solís, who played on the stage when the roof fell, a few Venezuelan bartenders and the captain of the army, who left four young daughters. Group Popular, a company services, said that three of its employees, including the President of AFP Popular Bank and his wife, died.
But countless more remained unidentified.
“I was in many hospitals and I did not find her,” said Deysi Suriel from her friend, 61-year-old Milca Curiel. Suriel lives in North Carolina and holidays in the Dominican Republic.
“There is a lot of pain”
Dozens of crazy relatives crowded at the National Institute of Forensic Pathology, scanning a list of the victim's names, while others went from the hospital to the hospital, looking for their loved ones, some of their photos.
“There is a lot of pain,” said Senator Daniel Rivera, former minister of public health of the country. “We must have a lot of patience.”
Among the people looking for their relatives was Kimberly Jones, whose godson, 45-year-old artist Osiris Blanc and his friends disappeared.
“It was their favorite place, they grabbed almost every Monday,” said Jones, adding that her niece was missing.
It was not clear at once, which caused a collapse of the roof or when the jet building was recently checked.
The club issued a statement with information that it cooperates with the authorities. A family spokeswoman who owns the club, said Associated Press that she had given questions about potential controls.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Public Works sent questions to the mayor's office. A spokesman for the mayor's office did not answer the news about the comment.