At least 13 people were killed after a roof collapsed at a popular night club in the Dominican Republic early on Tuesday morning.
The incident took place around 12:44 am during merengue singer Rubby Pérez’s live performance when a section of the ceiling plummeted at the Jet Set venue in Santo Domingo.
A law enforcement official said at least 90 people were rushed to a local hospital in the Dominican capital.
First responders have been searching for trapped guests, including former Major League Baseball pitcher and 2011 World Series champion Octavio Dotel.
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.
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.
Pictured: Rubby Perez’s live performance when a section of the ceiling plummeted
Pictured: The aftermath after the collapse
Pérez’s daughter, Zulinka Pérez, told reporters that she was at the event and that the singer was still trapped inside the club.
Zulinka recalled that one of the band’s backup singers and her husband were lying over her. Her husband urged her to leave first to ensure that their children had someone to look after them 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.
This story is developing.
