Singer Rubby Pérez is missing after a roof collapsed and killed 27 at a popular night club that he was performing at in the Dominican Republic.
The incident took place around 12:44 am Tuesday during the merengue singer’s live performance when a section of the ceiling plummeted at the Jet Set venue in Santo Domingo.
Footage shared on social media showed Pérez, who had two hits in Billboard chart lists, performing on stage when parts of the ceiling came crushing down on the dancing crowd and the performers.
Pérez’s’ daughter and band vocalist, Zulinka Pérez, told reporters that the legendary artist is trapped under the rubble and that he sang as a way to draw the attention of rescue crew workers.
The Emergency Operations Center said at least 138 people have been rushed to local hospitals in the Dominican capital.
First responders are continuing to search for survivors by utilizing thermal cameras that can detect victims’ body heat signatures.
Former Major League Baseball pitcher Octavio Dotel, who had been among those trapped underneath the debris, has since been rescued, according to local reporter Héctor Gómez.
Dotel, who won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011, was heard screaming for help, according to Dominican television station Supercanall
Pictured: Rubby Pérez’s live performance when a section of the ceiling plummeted at Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Tuesday. Pérez was pulled out from under the rubble and rushed to area hospital
Pictured: The aftermath after the collapse
Former Major League Baseball player Octavio Dotel remains trapped at Jet Set after the rood collapsed during an event early Tuesday
The network also reported that paramedics provided IVs to some of the clubgoers who are still trapped under the rubble awaiting rescue.
Former major leaguers Esteban Germán and Henry Blanco also attended the club, but were able to exit the venue.
The nation’s President Luis Abinader confirmed those dead include Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the province of Montecristi, and sister of another ex Major League Baseball player, Nelson Cruz.
In a video, a male clubgoer pointed toward an area of the nightclub and noticed that something was wrong with the ceiling.
‘Oh, something fell from above, you see? Something fell from the ceiling,’ the guest said.
Nelsy Cruz (right), the governor of the province of Montecristi and sister of former MLB star Nelson Cruz (left), is among the 15 people who have been confirmed dead
A crew removes a survivor out of Jet Set nightclub on Tuesday morning
A woman, who appeared to be with the man recording the video, could be heard screaming, ‘Dad, what happened to you?’
A separate video showed multiple guests looking at a lighting structure that was attached to the ceiling when the roof came crashing down.
Zulinka said she was standing next to her husband, who is also band vocalist, when he threw himself on top of her as the ceiling fell.
Her husband urged her to leave first to ensure that their child had someone to look after him in the event he didn’t survive.
‘He told me, ‘Babe get out so the child won’t be alone if this whole thing falls down. I crawled out’,’ Zulinka said.
Still image from video filmed by retired MLB player Esteban Germán showed Dominican merengue singer Rubby Pérez (left) perform on stage with his backup singers, his daughter Zulinka (center) and her husband (right), moments before the roof collapsed at Jet Set club
Rescue workers search for survivors at the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a party in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Tuesday
First responders remove a male survivor from Jet Set nightclub
A woman reacts at the scene after the roof collapse at Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Esteban Germán, who played parts of 10 seasons with Texas, Oakland and Kansas City, attended the party at Jet Set but was not injured
Aerial view of Jet Set nightclub, where rescue workers continue the search for survivors
Center of Emergency Operations director, Juan Manuel Mendez, told reporters that many of the people who were at the nightclub, which has a capacity of 1,000 customers, may still be alive.
‘That is why the authorities here will not give up until not a single person remains under that rubble,’ he said.
President Abinader visited the site and vowed that the government will exhaust all resources to ensure that trapped victims are saved.
First Raquel Arbaje told reporters Governor Cruz called President Abinader at 12:49am and told him that she was trapped.
Music promoter Carlos Bautista, who survived the accident, said there were at least 850 guests at the weekly party at Jet Set, which first opened its doors in 1973 as a restaurant and club.
The venue often hosted some of the merengue genre’s top talent, such as Fernando Villalona.
The nightclub was briefly shut down due to a fire on July 25, 2023 after its electricity room was struck by lightning.
A witness told online news outlet El Avance that he attended the show with his daughter and his son-in-law, who remained under the club debris, and three friends, who were hospitalized.
‘That’s something that’s almost impossible to explain … It happened suddenly—10 seconds and that’s it,’ he said.
A resident told local reporters that his brother, Arolbel Nolazco, and sister-in-law, Natalia Nolazco, were trapped inside the nightclub and accused it of negligence. He claimed to have visited the venue for a meeting a week ago and noticed workers installing a tarp of a lighting structure that was attached to the ceiling to prevent a water leak
In a statement, Jet Set said it is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
‘Last night, a tragedy struck a deep note in the hearts of all of us who are part of Jet Set and all Dominicans,’ the nightclub said. ‘The loss of life leaves us in a state of profound pain and dismay.
‘In this difficult time, our prayers are with each of the affected families. We share their pain as if it were our own, because we are also in mourning.
‘We are collaborating fully and transparently with the corresponding authorities to assist the victims and clarify what happened.’
Notwithstanding, a man who was searching for his missing sibling, Arolbel Nolazco, and sister-in-law, Natalia Nolazco, recalled visiting Jet Set for a meeting a week ago and noticing that workers were placing a tarp over the lighting structure that hung from the ceiling above the stage and seating area.
The concerned man, who works in construction, found it strange that they were placing a sheet of canvas to stop water dripping from the roof.
‘I work with sheetrock and I understand that a slab this large, which doesn’t have a column in the center, (if) they are putting a tarp over the lights so that it doesn’t burn, it’s because there is a strong filtration issue,’ he said.
