Photo shows an aerial view of the Jet Set nightclub after the collapse of its roof, in Santo Domingo, on April 8, 2025. (Photo by Handout / Prensa Servicio 911 / AFP)
Santo Domingo: The death toll from an early-morning roof collapse at a Dominican Republic night club on Tuesday rose to 44, officials said, as rescuers continued searching for survivors in the rubble.
"Forty-four dead according to preliminary data so far. We continue to work," Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the Emergency Operations Center (COE), told journalists, putting the number of injured at more than 100.
Earlier report said at least 27 people died and more than 150 were hurt in an early-morning roof collapse.
Some 400 rescue personnel combed through the ruins as trapped people cried out for help from the debris of what was the Jet Set nightclub in the Caribbean nation's capital Santo Domingo.
Personnel of Civil Defence and firefighters inspect the Jet Set nightclub after the collapse of its roof, in Santo Domingo, on April 8, 2025. (Photo by Francesco Spotorno / AFP)
Dozens of ambulances were rushed to the scene to ferry the injured to hospital.
Scores of people gathered at the scene clamoring for news of their missing loved ones, who included renowned Dominican merengue singer Rubby Perez.
Perez, 69, was on stage when there was a sudden blackout and the roof came crashing down, according to eyewitness reports.
Local media said there were between 500 and 1,000 people in the club when disaster struck.
"It was sudden. I thought it was an earthquake, so I threw myself to the ground and covered my head," Enrique Paulino, Perez's manager, told reporters.
"One of our saxophonists is dead, we tried to get to the area where Rubby was but there was too much debris there," he said.
Perez's daughter Zulinka told reporters she had managed to escape after the roof collapsed, but he did not.
After many desperate hours without news, Zulinka later said she had confirmation that her father was "alive," though injured and still trapped in the debris.
Among the dead was the governor of the Monte Cristi municipality, Nelsy Cruz, who succumbed to her injuries in hospital, according to President Luis Abinader.
