More than 200 dead after Dominican Republic nightclub disaster, as search for survivors ends
Dominican Republic authorities have ended their rescue operation and turned to recovery efforts following the collapse of a nightclub roof on Tuesday, which left more than 200 people dead.
The deadly incident in the early hours of Tuesday morning at the Jet Set nightclub sent shockwaves around the country, with three days of mourning declared in the wake of the disaster.
The removal of bodies from the wrecked building accelerated overnight Wednesday into Thursday after civil protection services removed a large chunk of debris, according to Snayder Santana, an engineer from the Dominican Republic civil protection services.
According to Santana, the majority of the bodies recovered overnight were female and are still being identified.
An official statement from the country's Emergency Center Operations on Wednesday said that 'all reasonable possibilities of finding more survivors' had been exhausted, and the focus of the operation is now on recovering bodies.
'In the last days, rescue teams have worked uninterrupted to remove debris, helping the wounded and rescuing people alive,' the statement posted on X said.
It continues, 'However, having exhausted any reasonable possibility of finding more survivors, the operation is now in a different phase, nonetheless sensitive and crucial: the recovery of human bodies with due respect and the dignity that every victim deserves.'
Juan Manuel Méndez, the director of the operations center, said in a press conference that no one had been pulled alive from the rubble since Tuesday.
Méndez broke down in tears as he gave a press conference on Thursday, announcing the death toll had risen again. 'Today I conclude the hardest job I've ever done in my 20 years of service,' he said.
It remains unclear how many people are unaccounted for.
Hundreds of rescue workers had spent two days combing through the remains of the nightclub after its roof collapsed around 1 a.m. on Tuesday during a performance of merengue artist Rubby Pérez and his orchestra, authorities said. Pérez's body was recovered from the scene on Wednesday morning, emergency services said.
A funeral and memorial service for Pérez took place on Thursday and was attended by Dominican President Luis Abinader. Top government officials and other famous merengue singers, including Juan Luis Guerra, were in attendance.
The death toll from the incident rose to 221 on Thursday, Méndez said. He added that 189 people had been rescued alive from the rubble. The previous death toll was put at 184.
The cause of the disaster is currently undetermined. The nightclub was built more than 50 years ago, according to local media reports, and has the capacity to hold up to 500 people.
Health minister Victor Atallah said most of the trauma injuries suffered by those killed were blows to the head. 'The majority of the people who died, died instantly. Many were sitting down; the ceiling hit them in the head and chest,' he said, according to local newspaper El Caribe.
The Jet Set nightclub is one of the Caribbean nation's most famous venues and its Monday night events are especially well attended. The nightclub is considered more upscale, attracting high-profile party-goers. Two former Major League Baseball players were in attendance at the venue when the collapse happened, and are among those confirmed dead.
Aerial footage showed the venue with a wide, gaping hole in the middle of the building where the audience would have been located during the performance.
Desperate families were seen outside the destroyed venue on Wednesday, hoping that their loved ones would be rescued from the debris. Local news footage on Wednesday showed some searching for the names of their loved ones in lists hanging on a field hospital outside the venue, while others went from hospital to hospital in search of news.
President Abinader declared three days of mourning following the disaster. He traveled to the nightclub later Tuesday morning with First Lady Raquel Arbaje to express their condolences to families of the victims.
CNN's Jessica Hasbun and Michael Rios contributed reporting.
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