Former MLB stars Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco are among the over 100 people to have have died in a roof collapse at a nightclub in the capital of the Dominican Republic.
Championship-winning pitcher Dotel, 51 was reportedly rescued from the rubble of the Jet Set nightclub, in Santa Domingo, but later died while being transferred to hospital. Dominican authorities later confirmed his death.
At least 113 people died and more than 255 were injured in the incident which happened early Tuesday. The crowd was at the club to see merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was performing when the roof collapsed, officials said. He was also killed in the collapse.
It is not clear what caused the collapse.
Rescue crews continued to search for survivors throughout the day, according to Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Center of Emergency Operations.
“We presume that many of them are still alive, and that is why the authorities here will not give up until not a single person remains under that rubble,” he said.
Local outlets reported that Dotel may have been trapped for more than 11 hours before being discovered by emergency responders.
Dotel was well known to baseball fans, having pitched in the MLB for over a decade playing for 13 different teams, the second most teams played for by any player.
He made his major league debut with the New York Mets in 1999, and was later traded to the Astros ahead of the 2000 season – spending five seasons with them, his longest time with any team.
He went on to have stints with the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals before finishing his career pitching for the Detroit Tigers in 2012.
Dotel won the 2011 World Series with the Cardinals and two years later in 2013, became one of the few players in history to win both a World Series and a World Baseball Classic.
The Dominican Republic Ministry of Sports and Recreation later confirmed Blanco's death.
The 43-year-old Blanco played in the minor leagues from 2000 to 2008, heading to the majors for 56 games in 2005 with the Washington Nationals. Following his MLB career, he played in Japan and the Dominican Republic.
Another victim of the tragedy was Nelsy Cruz, the governor of Montecristi, who was confirmed dead by authorities. Cruz is the sister of former MLB designated hitter and All-Star Nelson Cruz.
Following the incident, Dominican president Luis Abinader wrote on X that all rescue agencies are “working tirelessly” to help those affected.
“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub. We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred,” he wrote.
Santo Domingo Mayor Carolina Mejía de Garrigó added: “Our city wakes up to a terrible tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub. My deepest sympathy goes out to the families still waiting for news of their loved ones.”
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