By Agence France-Presse
Rescuers raced to find survivors early Wednesday after the roof of a Dominican Republic nightclub collapsed during a concert by popular singer Rubby Perez, one of nearly 100 people killed in the disaster.
Rescue workers were pressing on with the search effort, now limited more to recovering bodies from the rubble more than 24 hours after the roof caved in.
Renowned Dominican merengue singer Perez, who was performing at the Jet Set nightclub for hundreds of people when the roof collapsed shortly after midnight Tuesday, was one of those killed, according to his manager.
Relatives of clubgoers gathered around the disaster site in the capital, Santo Domingo, as rescuers ferried the injured to hospital, and used a crane to remove debris.
“We have some friends here, a niece, a cousin, some friends who are in the rubble,” Rodolfo Espinal told AFP as he waited for information on his loved ones.
About 370 rescue personnel combed mounds of fallen bricks, steel bars and tin sheets for survivors.
Also among the dead were former Major League Baseball players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco.
Dotel, who was 51 years old, was rescued alive but later died of his injuries, local media reported.
A black-and-white photo of Dotel and images of the Dominican flag were projected onto the scoreboard at Citi Field in New York before Tuesday’s game between the New York Mets and the Miami Marlins.
“Peace to his soul,” the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League wrote in separate social media posts paying tribute to the two ex-players.
Local media said there were between 500 and 1,000 people in the club when disaster struck at around 12:44 a.m. (0444 GMT) Tuesday. The club has a capacity for about 1,700 people.
Perez was on stage when there was a blackout and the roof came crashing down, according to eyewitness reports.
Perez’s daughter Zulinka told reporters she had managed to escape after the roof collapsed, but he did not.
Also among the dead was the governor of the Monte Cristi municipality, Nelsy Cruz, according to President Luis Abinader.
He declared three days of national mourning.
By early Wednesday, the preliminary death toll had reached 98, said Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the Emergency Operations Center.
“No people have been found alive since 3:00 p.m. (Tuesday),” Mendez said in his latest update.
“As long as there is hope for life, all authorities will be working to recover or rescue these people,” he said earlier.
‘We are desperate’
Iris Pena, a woman who had attended the show, told SIN television how she escaped with her son.
“At one point, dirt started falling like dust into the drink on the table,” she said.
“A stone fell and cracked the table where we were, and we got out,” Pena recounted. “The impact was so strong, as if it had been a tsunami or an earthquake.”
Dozens of family members flocked to hospitals for news.
“We are desperate,” Regina del Rosa, whose sister was at the concert, told SIN. “They are not giving us news; they are not telling us anything.”
Helicopter images revealed a large hole where the club’s roof once was. A crane was helping lift some of the heavier rubble as men in hard hats dug through the debris.
Authorities have issued a call for Dominicans to donate blood.
‘Devastated’
Artists paid tribute to Rubby Perez on social media, with former colleague Wilfrido Vargas saying he was “devastated”.
“The friend and idol of our genre has left us,” Vargas wrote.
“Maestro, what a great pain he leaves us,” wrote Puerto Rican singer Olga Tanon.
The Instagram page of the Jet Set club said it has been in operation for more than 50 years, with shows every Monday until the early hours.
Its last post before Monday’s event invited fans to come and “enjoy his (Perez’s) greatest hits and dance in the country’s best nightclub.”
On Tuesday, the club issued a statement saying it was working “fully and transparently” with authorities.
The Jet Set collapse was one of the biggest tragedies the Caribbean nation and top tourist destination has faced in recent years.
In 2023, about 40 people were killed and dozens injured in an explosion linked to a plastics company in San Cristobal, near Santo Domingo.
And in 2005, more than 130 prisoners in the east of the country died in a fire caused by a fight between inmates.
Tourism generates about 15% of GDP in the country, with millions of annual visitors attracted by its music, nightlife, Caribbean beaches and the colonial architecture of the capital.
