Nationwide — Not less than 18 folks have died and greater than 120 others have been injured after the roof of a preferred nightclub referred to as Jet Set collapsed early Tuesday in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Rescue crews proceed to seek for survivors within the particles of Jet Set nightclub, the place the incident occurred throughout a late-night live performance. The incident was captured on video.
Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Heart of Emergency Operations, confirmed ongoing rescue efforts, saying authorities consider extra folks may nonetheless be alive beneath the rubble. “We gained’t cease till each final individual is accounted for,” he acknowledged on the scene.
In keeping with a number of information sources, together with CNN, Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi is among the many deceased. Injured within the collapse was famend merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was performing on the time. Pérez’s supervisor, Enrique Paulino, recounted the terrifying second the roof gave manner, revealing that the group’s saxophonist was killed. “All of it occurred so quick. I believed it was an earthquake,” he mentioned, nonetheless visibly shaken and lined in blood.
The reason for the structural failure has not but been decided. The live performance reportedly started shortly earlier than midnight, and the collapse occurred practically an hour later, catching many within the crowd off guard.
Dominican President Luis Abinader addressed the tragedy on social media, saying, “We deeply remorse the tragedy that occurred on the Jet Set nightclub,” and that each one rescue and emergency businesses have been working across the clock. He later visited the location, embracing grief-stricken family members and bystanders, though he didn’t communicate to the press.
Exterior the nightclub, an official with a megaphone pleaded with onlookers to clear the best way for emergency autos, urging cooperation as rescuers pulled victims from the wreckage. At a close-by hospital, one other official learn aloud the names of the injured, whereas anxious households cried out in hopes of listening to acquainted names.
