At least 79 people were killed and 155 others were injured when the roof of a nightclub in Dominican Republic collapsed, the head of the disaster relief agency Juan Manuel Méndez said, according to media reports Tuesday.
Parts of the roof collapsed on the party-goers during a concert by the merengue singer Rubby Pérez.
The newspaper Listín Diario’ reported citing Pérez’s manager as saying that the musician died in the collapse. Local authorities did not initially confirm the information. Pérez, who was popular in Latin America, had initially been reported injured.
The regional governor of the Monte Cristi province, Nelsy Cruz, also died in the accident, her brother said in an Instagram post.
Former baseball player Tony Blanco, who played in the US for nine years and eight more in Japan, also died, Major League Baseball said.
The cause of the roof’s collapse was initially unclear.
More than 300 rescue workers were searching for buried victims under the rubble using thermal imaging cameras.
“As long as there is still hope, we will keep working. There are signs that lead us to believe that there could still be survivors,” said Méndez. “The authorities will not give up here until the last person has been recovered from the rubble.”
President Luis Abinader visited the scene of the disaster. “We deeply regret the tragedy at the Jet Set nightclub,” he wrote on X.
“All the rescue workers are providing the necessary support and working tirelessly on the rescue. Our prayers are with the families of those affected,” he added.