NBC News reported that on April 10, Dominican Republic officials said a total of 221 people died in the Jet Set nightclub roof collapse in the capital Santo Domingo on April 8, of which 146 victims have been identified.
On the same evening (local time), the National Attorney General's Office announced the list of victims, and announced that the team of forensic doctors and experts were still working tirelessly to complete the autopsy and identify the remaining victims who had just been removed from the ruins.
Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the National Emergency Response Center (EOC), confirmed the latest casualty figures at a press conference on the same morning. Mr. Mendez said the rescue campaign had officially ended after 53 hours of continuous searching.
According to him, this is the most difficult job during his 20 years working at the EOC. He also said that the rubble had been almost cleaned up and a total of 189 people were saved.
After the rescue process ended, on the afternoon of April 10 (local time), Government Strategy and Communications Director Homero Figueroa said that the government is now moving to a cautious investigation phase, and affirmed that it will not make hasty conclusions.
Mr. Figueroa announced that the Office for Seismic and vulnerability Assessment of the National Infrastructure and Construction Works will supervise a group of domestic and international experts to conduct technical research to accurately determine the cause of the incident, thereby proposing further legal handling steps.
Previously, on April 8, the Jet Set nightclub suddenly collapsed while a performance by famous merengue singer Rubby Perez was taking place - who was confirmed to be one of the victims.
After the information about the incident spread, hundreds of families rushed to the scene, waiting in line all the days the rescue team worked, hoping to hear news about their loved ones.
One of the survivors, Zulink Perez, said she was standing on stage with her father when the accident happened and witnessed everything firsthand. However, her father was unlucky to escape. "Everything went down, I didn't see my father anymore. Everything happened so quickly, she choked up as she recounted.
