By By Micheal Chukwuebuka
NO fewer than 27 people lost their lives, and 160 others were injured early Tuesday in the Dominican capital when the roof of an iconic nightclub collapsed during a merengue concert attended by politicians, athletes, and other guests.
Stonix News gathered that rescue teams, as of this afternoon, Tuesday, April 8, continued to search for possible survivors in the debris of the one-story Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, said Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Center of Emergency Operations.
Former MLB pitcher and WS Champion, Octavio Dotel, also died after being transported in critical condition to a hospital in the Dominican capital following the collapse of the Jet Set nightclub’s roof.
“We presume that many of them are still alive, and that is why the authorities here will not give up until not a single person remains under that rubble,” he said.
Among the victims was Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi.
The injured included former Major League baseball pitcher Octavio Dotel, legislator Bray Vargas, and merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was performing when the roof fell on the crowd, officials reported.
A victim being transported to a hospital
Pérez’s manager, Enrique Paulino, whose shirt was stained with blood, described the scene to reporters. He said the concert began just before midnight, and the roof collapsed nearly an hour later, killing the group’s saxophonist.
“It happened so quickly. I managed to throw myself into a corner,” Paulino recalled, adding that his first thought was that it was an earthquake.
The cause of the roof’s collapse was not immediately known.
Manuel Olivo Ortiz, whose son had attended the concert but had not returned home, was among those waiting anxiously outside the club, which is famous for its traditional Monday night parties featuring prominent national and international artists.
“We’re holding on only to God,,” Olivo said.
President Luis Abinader posted on X that all rescue teams were “working tirelessly” to assist those affected.
“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub. We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred,” he wrote.
Aerial view of the collapsed roof
Abinader arrived at the scene and comforted people searching for their loved ones, some of whom were in tears. He did not address the media.
An official, using a megaphone, stood outside the club, urging the large crowd gathered to help find missing people to make space for the ambulances.
“You have to cooperate with authorities, please,” he said. “We are removing people.”
At a hospital where the injured were taken, an official stood outside, reading aloud the names of survivors as a crowd gathered, calling out the names of their missing loved ones.
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