The China Mail - Over 120 dead in Dominican Republic nightclub disaster

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.

- Help from Israel, Puerto Rico -

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.

Mercedes Lopez was looking for her son in a tent next to the nightclub where bodies retrieved from the rubble were being brought.

"We haven't heard anything, they haven't given us any information, we haven't found him on the lists or in the hospitals," she said, adding she was in "a lot of pain."

Antonio Hernandez was also awaiting news of his son, who worked in the club.

"Yesterday, I was certain (of finding him), I had hope, but in the early hours of the morning... they pulled four dead people out of there in a flash, and mine wasn't there," he told AFP, his voice breaking.

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 disaster struck at around 12:44 am (0444 GMT) Tuesday. The club has capacity for about 1,700 people.

A video posted on social media showed the club suddenly being plunged into darkness while Perez was performing.

Perez's daughter Zulinka managed to escape but her father did not.

Mendez, the emergency services director, said Perez's body was recovered at dawn on Wednesday.

Tributes to the singer, known for hits such as "Volvere" and "Enamorado de Ella," poured in from musicians across Latin America.

"Maestro, what a great pain you leave us," Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer Olga Tanon wrote on social media.

His former band leader Wilfrido Vargas said he was "devastated."

"The friend and idol of our genre has just left us," he wrote.

The governor of Monte Cristi municipality, Nelsy Cruz, was also killed.

President Luis Abinader, who visited the scene, has declared three days of national mourning.

- 'Dirt started falling' -

Iris Pena, a woman who had attended the show, told SIN television how she escaped with her son.

"At one point, dirt started falling like dust into the drink on the table," she said.

"A stone fell and cracked the table where we were, and we got out," Pena recounted. "The impact was so strong, as if it had been a tsunami or an earthquake."

Helicopter images revealed a large hole where the club's roof once was.

Authorities issued a call for Dominicans to donate blood.

- Worst disaster in 20 years -

The Instagram page of the Jet Set club said it has been in operation for more than 50 years, with shows every Monday until the early hours.

Its last post before Monday's event invited fans to come and "enjoy his (Perez's) greatest hits and dance in the country's best nightclub."

The roof's collapse was one of the biggest tragedies the Caribbean nation and top tourist destination has faced in recent years.

In 2005, more than 130 prisoners in the east of the country died in a fire caused by a fight between inmates.

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M.Zhou--ThChM