Nearly 100 people, including celebrities, killed in club roof collapse in Dominican Republic

At least 98 people have been killed and more than 150 injured after a roof collapsed at a nightclub in the Dominican Republic’s capital Santo Domingo, the BBC writes.

A provincial governor and former Major League Baseball pitcher Octavio Dotel were among the victims. Dotel, 51, died on the way to hospital after being pulled from the debris.

Luis Abinader, President of the republic, arrived at the scene and expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased.

The incident happened in the early hours of Tuesday at a concert by popular merengue singer Rubby Pérez at the Jet Set nightclub. The daughter of Rubby Pérez said her father was among those trapped in the debris.

Local media reports that there may have been about a thousand people in the nightclub at the time of the collapse.

The director of the Emergency Operations Centre (COE), Juan Manuel Méndez, said the death toll could rise, adding that many more people were still trapped under the rubble. Méndez expressed hope that they could be rescued.

Hundreds of people were inside the venue and some 400 rescuers are still searching for survivors.

Jet Set is a popular nightclub in Santo Domingo which regularly hosts dance music concerts on Monday evenings. Politicians, athletes and other prominent figures were in attendance. Also among the victims was Nelsy Cruz, governor of Monte Cristi province, who died in hospital from his injuries.

Video footage apparently taken inside the club shows people sitting at tables in front of the stage and some dancing to the music in the back while Rubby Pérez sings. The Dominican Republic is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Caribbean. Last year, according to the country’s authorities, it was visited by about 11 million tourists.