At least 66 killed in Dominican Republic nightclub roof collapse

At least 160 other people were injured and some 400 emergency crews were still working to pull survivors from the rubble as families of the victims gathered at the site searching for their loved ones, authorities said on Tuesday.

Juan Manuel Mendez, head of the Dominican Republic’s emergency operations centre, said that efforts to rescue those trapped under the debris were continuing, though the exact number of people inside the Jet Set nightclub at the time of the collapse remained unclear.

Local media reported there were between 500 and 1,000 people in the club when disaster struck in the early hours of Tuesday.

The roof collapse happened during a concert attended by politicians, athletes and other prominent figures.

Among the victims was Nelsy Cruz, governor of the northern Monte Cristi province, President Luis Abinader said. Cruz is the sister of former baseball player Nelson Cruz, a seven-time MLB All-Star.

Former MLB pitcher Dotel died en route to a local hospital after being pulled from the debris, a spokesman for the nation’s Ministry of Sports said.

The Dominican Republic’s Professional Baseball League expressed “its sorrow over the death of former pitcher Octavio Dotel” and concluded: “Peace to his soul”.

Dotel, 51, debuted for the New York Mets in 1999 and played until 2013 for more than a dozen teams including the Houston Astros, Oakland A’s, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers.

“Thinking about our people in the Dominican Republic,” Carlos Mendoza, manager of the Mets, said in a press conference. “We have a lot of the Dominican community in the baseball world.”

Nearly 150 people have been taken to local hospitals for treatment, according to the government.

The cause of the roof collapse remains under investigation.

Earlier, it was reported that at least 27 people were dead after the nightclub roof collapse.

‘Save lives’

Iris Pena, a woman who had attended the concert, told the Dominican channel SIN how she escaped with her son.

“At one point, dirt started falling like dust into the drink on the table. I asked the security officers … whether the ground had shaken,” she said.

“A stone fell and cracked the table where we were, and we got out,” Pena recounted. “The impact was so strong, as if it had been a tsunami or an earthquake.”

Dozens of family members flocked to hospitals for news.

“We are desperate,” Regina del Rosa, whose sister was at the concert, told SIN. “They are not giving us news; they are not telling us anything.”

At the scene, meanwhile, helicopter images revealed a large hole where the club’s roof once was. A construction crane was helping to lift some of the heavier rubble as men in hard hats dug through the debris.

"All emergency agencies have responded and are working tirelessly on the rescue efforts. Our prayers are with the affected families," he said.

The cause of the collapse is under investigation.

Earlier it was reported that at least 51 people were killed and more than 100 were injured in a devastating fire at a packed nightclub in Kocani in North Macedonia. According to the latest data, death toll rose to 59, and the number of injured increased to 155.