Santo Domingo [Dominican Republic], April 9 : Search operations are underway in the capital city of the Dominican Republic, where the collapse of the roof of a nightclub resulted in the death of at least 89 people, New York Times (NYT) reported.
As per the NYT, heavy machinery and drones were being used in the large scale search and rescue operations taking place at the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo.
Despite this, the death toll in Tuesday's nightclub roof collapse in the Dominican Republic kept steadily rising, as efforts continued into the night in a frantic quest to find survivors.
NYT reported that by late Tuesday, at least 89 people had died, after the roof suddenly caved in at about 12:45 AM (local time) during a concert at Jet Set, a popular nightclub in Santo Domingo. Its Monday night dance party was a decades-old tradition frequented by a who's who of Dominican society, many of whom were still trapped inside.
NYT reported that several people were killed or injured during the merengue concert, including a governor, a member of the Dominican Republic's congress, and two former US Major League Baseball players.
NYT quoted the club's owner, Antonio Espaillat, who said in a video posted on social media. "There are not enough words to express the pain this event causes... What happened has been devastating for everyone."
According to the NYT, officials stated that they were focused on rescues and had not yet begun to investigate the cause of the tragedy. The building, a former movie theater, was at least 50 years old and had been the scene of a fire several years ago.
The authorities said it was unclear how many people were inside at the time of the collapse. Victims were still being pulled from the rubble, alive and dead.
Jet Set, which has been open for 50 years, is one of the most famous clubs in the Dominican Republic. It is especially well known for its Monday shows.
Among those at the nightclub was Nelsy M. Cruz Martinez, the governor of the Dominican province Monte Cristi, an area in the northwest of the country near the border with Haiti.
Octavio Dotel, 51, a former pitcher in the Major Leagues, was pulled from the rubble and taken to an area hospital. He later died, the Professional Baseball League of the Dominican Republic announced, as cited by NYT. Another former major league baseball player, Tony Blanco, also died, the commissioner of Major League Baseball confirmed in a statement.
Several members of the Dominican Congress were thought to have been inside the club, and several lawmakers went to the site.
The son of the country's public works minister and his wife were also still missing, the authorities said.
Carlos Mendoza Diaz, president of the Dominican Association of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors, said the Jet Set building was decades old and had recently been damaged.
"We have gathered information that it was not only a structure over 50 years old, built for a movie theater and later converted into a nightclub, and obviously these are different safety parameters," he said. "We also know that a fire occurred a few years ago, and perhaps the combination of these events could have caused the collapse", he said as quoted by NYT.
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