The death toll of the roof collapse at a Dominican nightclub has risen to 113, and is expected to climb as emergency crews continue to search the rubble more than 24 hours after the disaster. Dominican public figures from the worlds of music, politics, and sport are among those who were killed when the ceiling caved in an hour into merengue singer Rubby Pérez’s midnight headline show at the Jet Set club. Pérez himself and his saxophonist, Luis Solís, were confirmed dead early this morning (April 9), and Major League Baseball has paid tribute to former players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco. Dominican officials have not commented on potential causes of the collapse, which also injured more than 255 survivors.
Pérez has been a merengue luminary for decades, playing in bands including Los Juveniles del Sabor in the 1970s after studying music at the National Conservatory of Santo Domingo. He sang on hits with the Wilfrido Vargas Orchestra that helped make merengue an international phenomenon, before launching a solo career in 1987. Popular throughout his life, he released several platinum albums and, as his legacy grew, headlined U.S. venues including Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden. In 2010, the Committee of Latin American Political Parties in the United States recognized Pérez for helping victims of that year’s Haiti earthquake.