Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Emergency Operations Center, said staff were looking for potential survivors in the rubble of a one-story nightclub located in Santo Domingo.
“We continue to clean up the debris and look for people,” he said Tuesday night. “We will work tirelessly to find people.”
Nearly 12 hours after the nightclub top collapsed to customers, rescuers still pulled the survivors out of the debris. Firefighters removed a broken concrete block and used sawed blocks of wood as wooden boards to lift the heavy debris as the noise from the drill bit cracked in the concrete.
Manders said rescuers are prioritizing three areas of the club: “We heard some sounds.”
Nelsy Cruz is the governor of Montecristi’s northwestern province and sister of seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star Nelson Cruz. First lady Raquel Abraje told reporters she had called President Luis Abinader at 12:49 a.m. and said she was trapped and the roof collapsed. Cruz later died in the hospital, officials said.
“It’s a tragedy,” Abraj said, his voice shattering.
The Dominican Republic’s Professional Baseball League released MLB pitcher Octavio Dotel, 51, on X, who has also passed away. Officials pulled Dotel out of the debris earlier and took him to the hospital. League spokesman Satosky Terrero said Dominican baseball player Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera was also killed.
At least 160 people were injured, including state MP Bray Vargas, officials said.
Merengue singer Rubby Pérez performed when the roof collapsed and initially said he had been rescued, but Méndez said late Tuesday that it wasn’t true. Rescuers are still looking for Perez, he said.
Pérez’s manager, Enrique Paulino, whose shirt was covered in blood, told reporters on the scene that the concert began shortly before midnight, killing the group’s saxophonist’s saxophone player shortly after the roof collapsed nearly an hour ago.
“It happened so quickly. I managed to throw myself into a corner,” he said, who initially thought it was an earthquake.
It is unclear what caused the roof collapse or the last time the building where the jet was set up was inspected.
The club issued a statement saying it was working with authorities and noted that owner Antonio Espaillat was out abroad and returned later on Tuesday.
“There is no words to express the pain caused by this incident. What happened has devastating for everyone,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Public Works Department referred the question to the mayor’s office. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office did not respond to a comment.
Prosecutor Rosalba Ramos told TV CDN that authorities are still focused on finding survivors despite “everyone wants to know” what happened. They set up a temporary morgue near the club, while more than 120 people donated blood in two different centers.
Manuel Olivo Ortiz’s son attended the concert but did not return home, the clubs known for their traditional Monday parties, waiting outside the club for a performance by famous national and international artists.
“We just stick to God,” Olivo said.
Still waiting for the words is Massiel Cuevas, the 22-year-old Darlenys Batista.
“I’m waiting for her. She’s there, I know she’s there,” Kuvas firmly believed that she was sure Batista would be alive.
President Abinader wrote on X that all rescue agencies are working “relatively” to help those affected.
“We deeply regret the tragedy that happened on Jet Set Nightclub. We have been following the events in a minute since it happened.”
Abinader arrived at the scene and hugged those looking for friends and family, some shedding tears. He told reporters: “We have faith in God and we will save more people.”
An official with a megaphone stood outside the club, begging a large crowd to gather to find friends and relatives to provide ambulance space.
“Please work with the authorities,” he said. “We are expelling people.”
At a hospital where the injured, an officer stood outside and read the survivor’s name aloud, and a group of people gathered around her and shouted the names of loved ones.
Meanwhile, dozens of people gathered at the National Institute of Forensic Pathology, which shared photos of the victims so that their loved ones could identify them.
