Culture cancels National Carnival Parade due to Salcedo tragedy

Santo Domingo.- The Ministry of Culture (MINC) has canceled the celebration of the 2024 National Carnival Parade in “solidarity” with the families of the victims of the tragedy that occurred last Sunday during the closing of the Salcedo carnival, Hermanas Mirabal province, in which four people died and 15 were seriously burned.

The authorities expressed their “deepest condolences” to the families of the children Andriel Leonardo Abreu, five years old, and Ángel Santos, 13, as well as to those of Henry Rosario, 53, who was admitted to the Pearl Fort burn unit of the Ney Arias Lora Hospital, located in Santo Domingo Norte, and died this Saturday.

The institution expressed its “sincere solidarity and unconditional support to the families and victims who are still hospitalized in different health centers.”

“We have decided to cancel it due to the dismay we feel at this unfortunate event that saddens us all, whose victims deserve all our love, solidarity, and empathy at this time,” explained the Minister of Culture, Milagros Germán, quoted in a statement from the institution.

“As a government, we are attentive to the care of the other victims who are hospitalized in health centers and are taking all the necessary actions to provide timely assistance and specialized medical care to preserve their lives,” the official stressed.

Fourth victim dies

On an afternoon marked by sadness and mourning, the city of Salcedo is shaken today by the news of the death of a fourth victim related to the Salcedo carnival tragedy.

In the Arturo Grullón Pediatric Hospital in Santiago, a six-year-old boy, identified as Joel Alexander Rodríguez, succumbed to the serious injuries suffered during the fateful parade.

Little Joel had been fighting for his life since last Sunday, when he was seriously injured in a regrettable accident with fireworks during the carnival parade in Salcedo. His death adds to the painful list of victims that this incident has left, which has deeply impacted the community.

Of the 18 people affected by the flames, four have lost their lives, three of them being treated at the Santiago hospital. The news has shocked the population, generating a feeling of dismay and solidarity towards the affected families.