Despair as death toll from Dominican Republic nightclub collapse rises

​By  Vanessa Buschschlüter

Hundreds of rescue workers in the Dominican Republic continue to search for survivors of a roof collapse at a nightclub in the capital, Santo Domingo.

At least 124 people died and more than 150 were injured in the incident, which happened just before 01:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on Tuesday at the Jet Set club, officials said.

Head of Emergency Operations Juan Manuel Méndez estimated that his team had "24 to 36 hours left" to try to find survivors under the rubble.

Hundreds of guests were inside the popular venue attending a concert by merengue singer Rubby Pérez.

 

Pérez, as well as former Major League Baseball players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco, and a provincial governor are among those who have been confirmed dead.

Mobile phone footage recorded inside the club, which has been verified by the BBC, shows Pérez on stage singing while the man recording can be heard talking.

"Something fell from the ceiling" the man recording says, while his finger can be seen pointing towards the roof.

In the footage, Pérez can be seen looking towards the area pointed out by the man.

Less than 30 seconds later, a noise can be heard and the recording goes black while a woman is heard shouting "Dad, what's happened to you?".

​https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgpp9z054go