98 killed in nightclub roof collapse

SANTO DOMINGO (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, officials have said.

A provincial governor and former Major League Baseball pitcher Octavio Dotel were among the victims. Dotel, 51, died on  way to hospital after being pulled from the debris. The incident happened in the early hours of Tuesday at a concert by popular merengue singer Rubby Pérez at the Jet Set nightclub. He was among those killed in the incident, his manager said.

Hundreds of people were inside the venue and some 400 rescuers are still searching for survivors. There are fears the toll will rise further. The director of the Emergency Operations Centre (COE), Juan Manuel Méndez, said he was hopeful that many of those buried under the collapsed roof were still alive. 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.

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 is singing. 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 Pérez, also seems to be looking towards the area pointed out by the man.