Singer Rubby Pérez is missing after a roof collapsed and killed 27 at a popular night club that he was performing at in the Dominican Republic.
The incident took place around 12:44 am Tuesday during the merengue singer’s live performance when a section of the ceiling plummeted at the Jet Set venue in Santo Domingo.
Footage shared on social media showed Pérez, who had two hits in Billboard chart lists, performing on stage when parts of the ceiling came crushing down on the dancing crowd and the performers.
Pérez’s’ daughter, Zulinka Pérez, told reporters that the legendary artist is trapped under the rubble.
The Emergency Operations Center said at least 121 people have been rushed to local hospitals in the Dominican capital.
First responders are continuing to search for survivors by utilizing thermal cameras that can detect victims’ body heat signatures.
Former Major League Baseball pitcher Octavio Dotel, who had been among those trapped underneath the debris, has since been rescued.
Dotel, who won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011, was heard screaming for help, according to Dominican television station Supercanal.
The network also reported that paramedics provided IVs to some of the clubgoers who are still trapped under the rubble awaiting rescue.
The nation’s President Luis Abinader confirmed those dead include Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the province of Montecristi, and sister of another ex Major League Baseball player, Nelson Cruz.
Pictured: Rubby Pérez’s live performance when a section of the ceiling plummeted at Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Tuesday. Pérez was pulled out from under the rubble and rushed to area hospital
Pictured: The aftermath after the collapse
Former Major League Baseball player Octavio Dotel remains trapped at Jet Set after the rood collapsed during an event early Tuesday
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.
Nelsy Cruz (right), the governor of the province of Montecristi and sister of former MLB star Nelson Cruz (left), is among the 15 people who have been confirmed dead
A crew removes a survivor out of Jet Set nightclub on Tuesday morning
Pérez’s daughter, Zulinka Pérez, told reporters the legendary artist remained pinned under the rubble.
She said she was standing next to her husband, who is a band backup singer, when he threw himself on top of her as the ceiling fell.
Her husband urged her to leave first to ensure that their child had someone to look after him 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.
Legendary merengue artist Rubby Pérez (left) and his band were in the middle of a set at the weekly Monday night party at Jet Set nightclub before the venue’s roof collapsed
Rescue workers search for survivors at the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a party in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Tuesday
Center of Emergency Operations director, Juan Manuel Mendez, told reporters that many of the people who were at the nightclub, which has a capacity of 1,000 customers, may still be alive.
‘That is why the authorities here will not give up until not a single person remains under that rubble,’ he said.
President Abinader visited the site and vowed that the government will exhaust all resources to ensure that trapped victims are saved.
First Raquel Arbaje told reporters Governor Cruz called President Abinader at 12:49am and told him that she was trapped.
At least 700 are said to have attended the weekly party at Jet Set, which first opened its doors in 1973 as a restaurant and club.
The venue often hosted some of the merengue genre’s top talent, such as Fernando Villalona.
The nightclub was briefly shut down due to a fire on July 25, 2023 after its electricity room was struck by lightning.
