More Than 40 Dead in Disco Roof Collapse in DR

About 160 injured as rescue attempts continue
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 8, 2025 7:33 AM CDT
Updated Apr 8, 2025 2:10 PM CDT
Dominican Republic Disco's Roof Collapses, Kills at Least 13
Police cordon off the area as rescue workers search for survivors at the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Tuesday, April 8, 2025.   (AP Photo/Eddy Vittini)

At least 44 people died and 160 others were injured in the Dominican capital early Tuesday when the roof collapsed at a famed nightclub where politicians, athletes and others were attending a merengue concert, per the AP. Crews were searching for potential survivors in the rubble at the one-story Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, said Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Center of Emergency Operations. "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.

  • Nearly 12 hours after the top of the nightclub collapsed down onto patrons, rescue crews were still pulling out survivors from the debris. At the scene, firefighters removed blocks of broken concrete and sawed planks of wood to use them to lift heavy debris as the noise of drills breaking through concrete filled the air.
  • Former Major League pitcher Octavio Dotel, 51, was among those pulled from the rubble, and his fate was not immediately clear, per the New York Post.
  • Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi and sister of seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star Nelson Cruz, was among the victims. She had called President Luis Abinader at 12:49am saying she was trapped and that the roof had collapsed, first lady Raquel Abraje told reporters. Officials said Cruz died later at the hospital.
  • The injured include legislator Bray Vargas and merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was performing when the roof collapsed, officials said.
  • Pérez's manager, Enrique Paulino, whose shirt was spattered with blood, told reporters at the scene that the concert began shortly before midnight, with the roof collapsing almost an hour later, killing the group's saxophonist. "It happened so quickly. I managed to throw myself into a corner," he said, adding that he initially thought it was an earthquake.
  • It wasn't immediately clear what caused the roof to collapse.
(Updated throughout with new details.)

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