Four people hospitalized with injuries from the roof collapse at a Dominican Republic nightclub died overnight, raising the death toll to at least 225, health officials said Saturday.
Fifteen of the more than 200 injured remain hospitalized, including five in critical condition, officials said. A total of 189 people were rescued from the rubble of the popular nightclub Jet Set in the capital of Santo Domingo.
Health minister Victor Attalah told reporters Saturday there was a delay in identifying victims because the majority of them had to be matched using biometric data.
Pro-sports athletes, politicians and a fashion designer were among those inside the nightclub Tuesday when its rooftop came crashing down in the middle of popular merengue singer Rubby Perez’s performance, triggering a 53-hour search and rescue mission.
Among the confirmed dead are Perez, former World Series champion Octavio Dotel and former Major League Baseball player Tony Blanco, father of current Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Tony Blanco Jr.
Dotel, who started his career as a Mets prospect and also played with the Yankees, won a ring with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011. Blanco Sr. played briefly for the Washington Nationals.
Nelsy Cruz, the governor of Montecristi province and sister of seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star Nelson Cruz, reportedly alerted Dominican President Luis Abinader to the disaster, calling him from under the debris.
Officials said Nelsy Cruz later died at a hospital.
Other victims include a retired UN official, New York-based fashion designer Martín Polanco, an Army captain who left behind four young girls and three employees at Grupo Popular, a financial services company, including the president of AFP Popular Bank and his wife.
Flags at New York City Hall and other city-owned buildings were lowered Saturday in response to this week’s tragic roof collapse.
Mayor Eric is planning to travel Sunday to the Dominican Republic with NYC Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, who is Dominican, where they will pay their respects.
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