MLB Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez says family still buried in Dominican Republic nightclub rubble after roof collapse
Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and Boston Red Sox pitching icon Pedro Martinez says he has unaccounted-for family members who were at the Dominican Republic nightclub when the roof collapsed early Tuesday, killing at least 124 people.
“I still have family members that are still in the [rubble] and we don’t know what happened to them but we just want to be strong, like we have always been,” Martinez said in an Instagram post.
“I hope we can all unite and pray … that our families can be found,” he added in Spanish.
Martinez, a Dominican-American who maintains strong ties with his native land, did not specify who among his family members were inside the Jet Set nightclub, in Santo Domingo, when the roof came crashing down during a concert.
The MLB community was hit hard by the tragedy, with MLB pitcher and his sister, Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the Monte Cristi province, was killed.
Along with the former MLB players and their families, popular merengue singer Rubby Pérez was also identified as among the dead.
Emergency workers remain at the scene, digging through the rubble to locate the victims of the collapse, with at least 91 bodies identified and another 155 people reported injured.
Follow the latest on the tragic roof collapse at a Dominican Republic nightclub:
- Terrifying moment Dominican Republic nightclub’s roof collapses, killing 113 and trapping dozens
- Dominican Republic nightclub collapse that killed 231 likely caused by ‘excess weight’: experts
- Singer Rubby Pérez, who performed at Dominican Republic nightclub during roof collapse, declared dead
- MLB world mourns Octavio Dotel, Tony Blanco after deaths in nightclub tragedy: ‘Heartbroken’
“We presume that many of them are still alive, and that is why the authorities here will not give up until not a single person remains under that rubble,” said Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the city’s Center of Emergency Operations.
The city has brought in an additional 12 rescue crews from Puerto Rico, and nine from Israel to help with the excavations, officials said on Wednesday.
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the roof to collapse.