Shortly after midnight on Tuesday, April 8, some attendees at the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, started to feel uneasy. A few noticed sprinkles of dust falling into their drinks, while others wondered whether the rumbling they heard over the sound of merengue musician Rubby Pérez‘s band was an incoming earthquake. Before the hundreds of people in attendance for the popular performance could fully comprehend what was happening, the roof caved in.
In the days since, shock and sorrow have overcome the community members who knew Jet Set as a staple venue where people have gathered to dance and enjoy live music for decades. At least 218 people have been declared dead since Tuesday, with nearly 300 others sustaining injuries, including fractures to the skull, pelvis, and femur from being struck by falling cement. Throughout the week, additional information has emerged about those whose lives were claimed in the tragic incident, others who continue to search for their loved ones who were in attendance, and how authorities are preparing to launch an official investigation into the structural failure.
On Tuesday, the National Emergency Response System in the Dominican Republic reported that it received over 100 emergency calls, some of which were from attendees who found themselves trapped beneath the rubble. Within half an hour, 77 ambulances, eight National District Fire Department units, 200 National Police members, 50 rescue team members from the Armed Forces, and assistance from Mexico and Puerto Rico were deployed to assist in search and rescue efforts. One fire unit, in particular, specialized in collapsed structures. More than 155 transports were made to nearby hospitals as more bodies, dead and alive, were pulled from the debris.
Panicked friends and family members gathered at Jet Set in the hours after the collapse while awaiting additional news. As of Thursday, April 10, eight people remain in critical condition, with 16 more still hospitalized. “They spent hours, more than six, seven, eight hours under rubble with multiple fractures, multiple injuries, with bleeding related to being crushed,” said Dr. Julio Landrón, director general of the Dr. Ney Arias Lora Trauma Hospital, per Associated Press. The death toll has continued to rise since Tuesday afternoon, the last point at which the rescue team pulled anyone living from the rubble. “We’ve practically combed through ground zero,” said Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Center of Emergency Operations. “This has been very difficult for us all.”
Pérez, who headlined the event, was confirmed dead hours after relatives believed he had been rescued. He was 69 years old. The saxophonist in his band also died, according to manager Enrique Paulino. Other victims include former Major League Baseball players Octavio Dotel and Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera, fashion designer Martín Polanco, and Montecristi governor Nelsy Cruz. Many have yet to be identified, while some are known in occupation but not name, including an Army captain, three Grupo Poular employees, a cardiologist, an architect, a former United Nations officer, and more. Mournful family members have reported losing their wives, husbands, and children in the incident.
Jet Set has agreed to cooperate with authorities as they prepare to launch their investigation and rescue efforts come to an end. “There are not enough words to express the pain caused by this event. What happened has been devastating for everyone. We want you to know that we are with you, that we share your anguish,” owner Antonio Espaillat said in an Instagram video. “To you, mothers, fathers, siblings, children, and loved ones of those affected: you can count on us. Everything we do now, every decision, every step, has one purpose: to live up to your pain and be with you.”
The headcount from Tuesday night’s event remains unknown, but Jet Set holds a total standing room capacity of around 1,000. Tickets for the show were available for $32 with VIP tiers available, as well. In an essay for Billboard, Alba Joselin Holguín, 48, who witnessed the ceiling fall, recalled helping to clear the emergency exit. “They had chairs and tables blocking it — when they moved all that, a group of about 30 people managed to get out with us,” she said. “I remember there was a deathly silence, like a void in the air. The ceiling collapsed with a single blow, the entire roof fell with the irons, with the lights, it collapsed with everything.”
According to the Dominican Republic newspaper Listín Diario, Jet Set reported a fire in 2023 after the location’s power source was struck by lightning. “When a project like this is affected by a high fire, the concrete’s durability is significantly reduced,” it reported the Architect Garivalddy de Aza had said. “It becomes a kind of weak concrete.”
In a statement on Tuesday, President Luis Abinader said, “We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub. We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred. All relief agencies have provided the necessary assistance and are working tirelessly in the rescue efforts. Our prayers are with the affected families.”
