Santo Domingo, Apr 12:. Memorials were taking place Thursday for a merengue star and others killed when a cement roof collapsed at a popular nightclub in the Dominican Republic, as the number of dead surged to 221 and crews searched for more bodies under the rubble.Mourners clad in black and white streamed into Santo Domingo’s National Theatre, where Rubby Perez’s body lay inside a closed coffin. Perez had been performing on stage at the Jet Set club early Tuesday when the disaster happened.
President Luis Abinader and first lady Raquel Arbaje arrived at the theatre and stood beside Perez’s coffin for several minutes. Some mourners doubled over in tears as a recording of Perez singing the national anthem was played.
Renowned Dominican musician Juan Luis Guerra was among those gathered to pay their respects.
Meanwhile, just blocks away, crews continued the grim hunt for victims and survivors. No one has been found alive since Tuesday afternoon.
âWe’ve practically combed through ground zero,â said Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the Centre of Emergency Operations, adding that crews are focusing on one last small area of rubble.
Later Thursday, Mendez broke down while addressing reporters.
âThank you, God, because today we accomplished the most difficult task I’ve had in 20 years,â he said, moving the microphone away from his face as he cried. Other officials patted him on the back as he continued, âPlease forgive me,â before passing the microphone to an army official.
Officials said 189 people have been rescued alive from the rubble. More than 200 were injured, with 24 of them still hospitalised, including eight in critical condition.
âIf the trauma is too great, there’s not a lot of timeâ left to save patients in that condition, said Health Minister Victor Atallah.
He and other doctors said some of the injured suffered fractures to the skull, femur and pelvis. The legendary club in Santo Domingo was packed with musicians, professional athletes and government officials when dust began falling from the ceiling and into people’s drinks early Tuesday.
Minutes later, the roof collapsed.
‘He was a person that everyone loved’
Since then, dozens of people have been anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones, growing frustrated with the drip-drip of information provided by hospitals and the country’s forensic institute.
At least 146 bodies have been identified, authorities said Thursday.
MarĂa Luisa Taveras told TV station Noticias SIN that she was looking for her sister.
âWe have gone everywhere they have told us,â she said, her voice breaking.
Taveras said the family has spread out, with a relative stationed at each hospital and at the National Institute of Forensic Pathology. Dozens of people waited at the institute on Thursday, wearing face masks and complaining about the odour as they demanded the release of their loved ones’ bodies.
Victims identified so far include former MLB players Octavio Dotel and Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera; and Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi whose brother is seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star Nelson Cruz.
Dotel will be buried Thursday in Santo Domingo. Hundreds of people attended his wake on Wednesday, including Hall of Famer David Ortiz, formerly of the Boston Red Sox. Ortiz said the number of people who attended Dotel’s wake spoke volumes