By: Staff Writer
April 15, 2025
A popular Dominican Republic nightclub has its roof collapse, killing 225 last week Tuesday with the last four dying in hospital on Saturday night.
Jet Set, the nightclub, collapsed during a merengue concert. Notables from politicians to sports stars were in attendance and injured during the concert.
As of Saturday morning, people remained at a forensics institute waiting for the return of their loved ones’ bodies. Later in the day, health authorities said all 225 bodies had been returned to the victims’ families.
Health minister Victor Attalah told journalists Saturday there was a delay in identifying victims because the majority of them had to be matched using biometric data.
Victims identified so far include former Major League Baseball players Octavio Dotel and Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera. Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi whose brother is seven-time MLB All-Star Nelson Cruz also died.
Officials have said it is too soon to determine why the roof fell, although prosecutors visited the scene on Thursday after rescue crews began packing up and removed heavy equipment.
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.
In a separate mobile phone recording shared on social media, a man standing next to the stage can be heard saying “something fell from the ceiling”, while his finger can be seen pointing towards the roof.
In the footage, singer Rubby Pérez, also seems to be looking towards the area pointed out by the man.
Less than 30 seconds later, a noise can be heard and the recording goes black while a woman is heard shouting “Dad, what’s happened to you?”.
One of Rubby Pérez’s band members told local media that the club had been full when the collapse happened “at around 1am”.
“I thought it was an earthquake,” the musician said.
The daughter of Rubby Pérez said her father was among those trapped in the debris.
The people who live near the nightclub said they had been battling the owners over noise complaints and smoke from the club’s generators for years, but said they had found the family’s political influence and connections too difficult to beat.
But following the deadly roof collapse, politicians and reporters are interested in their problems, said Ysabel García, a neighbor who said the music and the generators that were used to power the club kept the neighborhood up all night.
“When we were knocking on doors for them to come to a protest we held against them, they said: ‘Jet Set? Untouchable,’” Ms. García said.