SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Dominican-born Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez attended a wake Thursday for a family member who was killed as a result of the Santo Domingo nightclub roof collapse.
“There are no words to describe the pain we are all feeling,” said Martinez, adding that he knew more than 50 of those who died. “Life is but a breath.”
The 53-year-old Martinez was born in Manoguayabo, about 10 miles west of the Dominican Republic’s capital city. At least 221 people were killed and hundreds more injured when the roof collapsed early Tuesday.
“We are all affected,” he said Wednesday when people he knew were still missing. “I still have family members who are still in the rubbles and we don’t know what happened to them. But we just want to be strong, like we have always been. We’re a country that prays a lot and remains united all the time, so I just hope everybody has the same courage.”
Victims identified so far include former Major League Baseball players Octavio Dotel and Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera; and Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi whose brother is seven-time MLB All-Star and former Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz. Blanco played 56 games with the Nationals in 2005.
Dotel was buried Thursday in Santo Domingo. Hundreds of people attended his wake on Wednesday, including Hall of Famer David Ortiz, formerly of the Boston Red Sox. Ortiz said the number of people who attended Dotel’s wake spoke volumes.
“He was a person whom everyone loved. It’s very hard, very hard, truly,” said Ortiz, who recalled how he spoke with Dotel almost every day. “He was very funny. Octavio was a guy who was a fighter.”
Dozens of people clad in black and white streamed into a funeral home Wednesday to pay their respects to Dotel.
“This has been devastating for our country,” former sports minister Danilo Díaz told TV station CDN. “He was always positive, a collaborator, a friend.”
The Jet Set club was packed with musicians, professional athletes and government officials when dust began falling from the ceiling and into people’s drinks early Tuesday. Minutes later, the entire roof collapsed. Concrete slabs killed some instantly and trapped dozens of others on a dance floor where hundreds had been dancing to a lively merengue concert.
“It is with a heavy heart that it is my turn to actually send condolences to all our family members and the people here in the United States who have family over there,” Martinez said Wednesday. “We’re all sad.”
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