Dominican Republic nightclub disaster death toll hits 124

Rescue workers raced Wednesday to find any remaining survivors under the rubble of a Dominican Republic nightclub, a day after the roof collapsed, killing at least 124 people in the country’s worst disaster in two decades. The death toll continued to climb Wednesday as emergency crews pulled more bodies from the ruins of the Jet […]

Rescue workers raced Wednesday to find any remaining survivors under the rubble of a Dominican Republic nightclub, a day after the roof collapsed, killing at least 124 people in the country’s worst disaster in two decades.

The death toll continued to climb Wednesday as emergency crews pulled more bodies from the ruins of the Jet Set club in the capital, Santo Domingo.

Juan Manuel Mendez, director of Emergency Operations, said rescue crews had “24 to 36 hours” of work left to find survivors of the disaster, which left at least 155 people injured.

Renowned Dominican merengue singer Rubby Perez was performing on stage when the roof collapsed with a thunderous noise on hundreds of revellers.

Perez was among a handful of celebrities killed in the tragedy, along with two former Major League Baseball players, Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco.

Dozens of relatives gathered outside the club as well as at hospitals and the city morgue for news of their loved ones as forensic teams continued to identify the dead.

Over 300 rescue workers combed mounds of fallen bricks, steel bars and tin sheets, supported by personnel from Puerto Rico and Israel.

Octavio Dotel, a 51-year-old baseball pitcher who won the World Series with the St Louis Cardinals in 2011, was rescued alive on Tuesday but later died of his injuries.

Local media said there were between 500 and 1,000 people in the club when the disaster struck at around 12:44 am (0444 GMT) Tuesday. The club has a capacity for about 1,700 people.