At least 27 people have died and more than 150 others injured after the roof of a popular nightclub in Santo Domingo collapsed during a concert in the early hours of Tuesday.
The incident occurred at the Jet Set discotheque, a well-known venue in the Dominican Republic's capital that regularly hosts dance music events.
The collapse happened while famed merengue artist Rubby Pérez was performing. Video footage from inside the venue shows attendees seated at tables and dancing near the stage as the performance was underway.
Emergency response teams, including around 400 search and rescue workers, rushed to the scene. Crews have been working tirelessly to pull survivors from the debris, with ambulances making over 100 trips to local hospitals—sometimes transporting multiple victims at once.
Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Emergency Operations Centre (COE), confirmed that rescue operations are ongoing and expressed optimism that more survivors could still be found. "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," Méndez said.
Among the deceased is Nelsy Cruz, the sister of former MLB star Nelson Cruz. The baseball world was further shaken by reports that former Houston Astros pitcher Octavio Dotel is trapped but alive beneath the rubble, according to USA Today.
Other former Major League Baseball players, including Henry Blanco and Esteban Germán, were also present at the nightclub earlier in the evening but had reportedly left before the collapse occurred, according to La Nación.
The cause of the structural failure remains unknown, and investigations are ongoing.
