(DOMINICAN REPUBLIC) — The recovery phase has ended after the roof of a Dominican Republic nightclub collapsed during a concert, killing at least 221 people, officials said Thursday.
Another 155 people were injured in the roof collapse early Tuesday at the Jet Set nightclub, located in the capital of Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic Emergency Operations Center said.
The agency said 189 people were rescued alive.
No one remains in the rubble following an extensive search, the sub-director of the Dominican Republic Emergency Operations Center said at the scene of the nightclub roof collapse Thursday afternoon.
Effort to identify victims
Forensic police specialists have been deployed to identify deceased victims using modern biometric identification systems, authorities said earlier Thursday.
The incident happened at 12:34 a.m. Tuesday, during a concert by the Dominican merengue singer Rubby Pérez, according to the police. The roof collapsed within seconds, police said.
“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub,” Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said in a post on social media on Tuesday. “We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred. All relief agencies have provided the necessary assistance and are working tirelessly in the rescue efforts. Our prayers are with the affected families.”
Pérez, 69, a renowned singer in the country, was among those found dead in the collapsed club, according to the Dominican Republic’s National Police.
A tribute posted to his Instagram account said Pérez’s music and legacy “will live forever in our hearts.”
Former MLB players among those killed
The incident has impacted those with ties to MLB, with two former players among those killed and other athletes’ family members involved.
The deceased included former MLB player Octavio Dotel, 51, according to the Dominican Republic’s minister of interior and police, Faride Raful.
Dotel was pulled from the rubble by rescue crews but died in an ambulance while en route to a hospital, according to Col. Randolfo Rijo Gomez, head of the country’s 911 emergency services.
The Dominican pitcher played for 13 MLB teams, including the Mets, which held a moment of silence for Dotel before their game on Tuesday.
“We mourn the passing of Octavio Dotel,” the Mets said in a social media post. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy in the Dominican Republic.”
Dotel was part of a combined no-hitter against the Yankees in June 2003, a team he would play for three years later.
Another former MLB player, 44-year-old Tony Blanco, was also killed in the roof collapse, according to the Dominican Republic Ministry of Sports and Recreation. The Dominican native played for the Washington Nationals as well as professionally in Japan and the Dominican Republic.
“His legacy will live on in the history of national baseball,” the ministry said in a statement on social media. “We share in their grief with their family, friends, and colleagues, and we offer our prayers for their eternal rest.”
Montecristi Gov. Nelsy Milagros Cruz Martinez was also among those killed, according to national police and Abinader’s office. She was the sister of former MLB star Nelson Cruz, who shared a statement from the Cruz Martinez family on social media that said her “legacy of service and love for others will live forever in our hearts.”
“Major League Baseball is deeply saddened by the passings of Octavio Dotel, Tony Blanco, Nelsy Cruz, and all the victims of last night’s tragedy in Santo Domingo,” MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. said in a statement on Tuesday. “We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of all those who have been affected and to our colleague Nelson and his entire family. The connection between baseball and the Dominican Republic runs deep, and we are thinking of all the Dominican players and fans across the game today.”
MLB Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez said Tuesday that he has family members missing in the rubble.
“We don’t know what happened to them, but we just want to be strong like we have always been,” the Dominican-born pitcher said in a video posted to Instagram. “We’re a country that prays a lot and remains united all the time. So I just hope that everybody has the same courage.”
Investigation underway
Fashion designer Martin Polanco died in the roof collapse, his family confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday. A fashion icon in the Dominican Republic, Polanco dressed artists including Daddy Yankee and Sergio Vargas as well as designed for Abinader.
At least nine U.S. citizens are among those killed, according to the State Department. U.S. lawful permanent residents also died in the collapse, according to the department, which did not specify how many.
“We are working with local authorities to determine if any additional U.S. citizens were affected and stand ready to provide consular assistance,” a department official said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X on Wednesday that the U.S. “stands ready to support our Dominican allies amid this difficult time.”
In the wake of the collapse, many families gathered at the site looking for their loved ones who were inside the club amid the search and rescue effort.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic are now moving into the expert assessment phase to determine what caused the nightclub to collapse, District Attorney of the National District Rosalba Ramos said from the site of the collapsed nightclub on Thursday. The expert assessment phase is the step done before a legal investigation can be opened.
The Dominican Republic government is creating a commission of experts to identify possible causes of the roof collapse, a government spokesperson said Thursday. This does not affect the district attorney’s role in investigating the incident, the spokesperson added.
There was a fire in 2023 that damaged part of the nightclub, authorities said.
ABC News’ Aicha El Hammar Castano and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.
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