Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez said on social media that several of his family members were inside the nightclub that collapsed in the Dominican Republic early Tuesday.
“I still have family members that are still in the rubbles, and we don’t know what happened to them,” Martinez said in a video posted to Instagram on Tuesday night.
At least 124 people have been killed, with hundreds more injured from the collapse at the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo that occurred around 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Former World Series champion Octavio Dotel and former MLB player Tony Blanco were among the dead, as was Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the Monte Cristi province in the country and sister of seven-time MLB All-Star Nelson Cruz.
Dotel reportedly was alive when rescue crews located him and at least seven others, but authorities said Tuesday night that Dotel was declared dead upon arrival at a local hospital after his condition worsened.
Martinez, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and eight-time All-Star, grew up in a suburb of Santo Domingo. He is a baseball analyst.
“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,” he said in the video. “We’re all sad. We’re all affected by the tragedy. … Our hearts are with you. We all are affected.”
Rescue crews are still searching for survivors more than 24 hours after the collapse. Officials said Wednesday that they have rescued 145 people from the wreckage of the nightclub.
“As long as they report that there is a missing person, we will be here,” emergency operations director Juan Manuel Méndez said, adding that rescue workers expected to need another 24 to 36 hours to complete their search.
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the roof to collapse or when the Jet Set building was last inspected.
The Associated Press, Reuters and Field Level Media contributed to this report.
