Family seeks homicide charges against owners of collapsed Dominican nightclub

The household of 1 of 231 radical killed erstwhile a Dominican nightclub extortion collapsed connected concert-goers is seeking manslaughter charges against the establishment's owners, according to a ineligible filing Tuesday.

The widow and parents of unfortunate Virgilio Cruz filed a ailment with prosecutors, claiming the owners of the Jet Set nightclub had been negligent successful "safety design" and modifications made to the building, present successful ruins.

The household argued determination was "sufficient evidentiary merit to indict" the nine owners for involuntary manslaughter, and said they would besides prosecute a civilian liability assertion against authorities successful the Dominican Republic.

"This calamity is not lone attributable to the owners and managers of the Jet Set nightclub... but besides to Dominican authorities institutions" and the municipality, said the filing.

"They failed to fulfill their ineligible duties of supervision, inspection, and authorization of operations for establishments unfastened to the public."

The extortion of the club, a half-century-old mainstay of the superior Santo Domingo, came crashing down successful the aboriginal hours of Tuesday past week connected hundreds of radical attending a performance by merengue prima Rubby Perez, who besides died successful the Caribbean nation's worst catastrophe successful decades.

By Monday, authorities enactment the decease toll astatine 231, with hundreds much injured.

- 'Avoidable tragedy' -

The ineligible filing listed grounds that the building, which was 52 years old, had been weakened by age, a caller fire, inadequate repairs and "undue loads" placed connected the extortion by dense instrumentality specified arsenic aerial conditioners.

"The facts described present attest to a concatenation of structural negligence and information omissions, attributable not lone to the managers (and) shareholders of the nightclub, but besides to nationalist institutions," said the document.

"These institutions, by failing successful their duties of inspection, supervision, and control, violated their ineligible functions and fostered a unsafe situation that culminated successful this avoidable tragedy."

More than 300 rescuers, aided by sniffer dogs, worked tirelessly for days to find survivors, and pulled 189 radical live from the mounds of twisted steel, zinc and ceramic that stay of the structure.

The Dominican authorities has announced a committee of nationalist and planetary experts to analyse the calamity.

A preliminary database of victims includes an Italian, 2 French citizens and, according to the US State Department, "several" Americans.

Aerial images of the tract amusement a country resembling the aftermath of an earthquake.

A video posted connected societal media showed the venue, which could clasp 1,700 guests, abruptly plunged into acheronian portion Perez was singing, followed by crashing sounds and screams.

Besides 69-year-old Perez, different high-profile victims included 2 retired Major League Baseball players and a provincial governor.

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