Using heavy machines, drones, dogs and dozens of rescuers, authorities worked desperately to find deadly roof survivors at nightclubs in the Dominican Republic, and authorities said at least 58 people had been killed.
The collapse occurred at a concert on the jet set. Jetsett is a decades-old tradition where Monday night dance parties frequented by anyone in Dominican society, many of which were still trapped inside.
Among the killings or wounded were the governor, members of the Dominican Republic Congress, and former US major league baseball players.
Authorities said they are focusing on rescues and have yet to begin investigating the cause of the tragedy. The former cinema building was at least 50 years old and was the scene of a fire a few years ago.
Authorities said it is unclear how many people were inside at the time of the collapse. The victim was still drawn from the tile rub and was alive and dead. With each Grimm update, the number of deaths rose.
Some people received calls from relatives trapped inside, Juan Manuel Mendes, director of the emergency business centre, said in an Instagram video shared by the National Police.
“We're bringing out people who can be rescued alive,” Mendes said. “You can hear people asking you to help me.”
In a series of social media posts, authorities said rescuers had travelled at least 155 times to local hospitals.
With so many people injured, the ambulance initially had to transport two or three people to the hospital at a time, Mendes said.
Open for over 45 years, Jetset is one of the most famous clubs in the Dominican Republic. It is particularly well known for its Monday show, live music staples in the city.
The unsettled family gathered at the scene under the fiery sun, desperately trying to get news about their loved ones. Some people said up to seven relatives have been missing after the disaster.
Several members of the Dominican Conference were believed to have been inside the club, and several lawmakers went to the site.
Carlos J. Gill Rodriguez, who represents Santo Domingo in Congress, was injured and had to undergo emergency surgery, his office said. His wife was injured and released from hospital, but his two assistants who also appeared at the event have not been found.
“My beloved brother!” one woman cried out, knowing that the brother had not survived.
Another woman, Yeheris Ventura, sobbed as she was at the club and explained her fears that she hadn't heard from her husband, Gálver Silvestre, that her name was not a list of survivors, but a list of the dead that had been circulating.
Former Major League pitcher Octavio Dotel (51), was pulled out of Ware Rub and taken to a local hospital. He later passed away, and was announced by the Dominican Republic's professional baseball league.
The show featured meringue singer Rubby Pérez.
The video, circulated on social media and verified by the New York Times, showed Perez performing in front of a revelling group. The camera began to shake, and people began screaming as the large chandelier fell from the ceiling.
Another video, filmed in the aftermath and verified by the era, captured massive destruction. The entire roof was shown to have collapsed, with tiled rubs covering the stage and dance floor, and rescuers searching for the wreckage.
Authorities announced that the singer was in the hospital, but one of his brothers said these reports were wrong and the entertainer remained inside the tile rub 14 hours after the collapse. Perez has not been found, Mendes confirmed late Tuesday afternoon.
Among the people in the nightclub was Nelsy M. Cruz Martinez, governor of Monte Christie, Dominica, a northwestern region of the country near the border with Haiti.
Cruz called President Lewis Abinader at 12:49am. While she was trapped in a tile rub, First Lady Raquel P. Albale told reporters on the scene.
Cruz later died in the hospital, Abinader said outside the club Tuesday morning.
“I deeply regret the tragedy that took place at Jetset Nightclub,” Avinader told X.
The authorities' son and his wife were still missing, authorities said.
“But we hope to God and pray for a positive outcome,” Minister Eduardo Estrella said in a statement.
Santo Domingo Mayor of Carolina Mezia de Galigo wrote on social media that “our city is awakened to a terrible tragedy,” expressing sadness to families affected by the tragedy.
Carlos Mendoza Diaz, an architect and surveyor for the Dominican Institute of Engineers, said the Jetset building was decades old and had recently been damaged.
“We gathered information that it was not only a structure that was built for cinemas and later converted to nightclubs, but that these were obviously different safety parameters,” he said. “We also know that a fire broke out a few years ago, and perhaps a combination of these events could have caused the collapse.”
Nader Ibrahim, Amelia Nielenberg and Jonathan Wolf contributed the report.
