AFP, Santo Domingo

Rescuers rushed to find survivors yesterday after the roof of a Dominican Republic nightclub collapsed during a concert by popular singer Rubby Perez, one of more than 110 people killed in the disaster.

Rescue workers were pressing on with the search effort, now limited more to recovering bodies from the rubble over a day after the roof caved in.

Renowned Dominican merengue singer Perez, who was performing at the Jet Set nightclub for hundreds of people when the roof collapsed shortly after midnight Tuesday, was one of those killed, his manager said.

Relatives of clubgoers gathered around the disaster site in the capital Santo Domingo as rescuers ferried the injured to hospital, and used a crane to remove debris.

“We have some friends here, a niece, a cousin, some friends, who are in the rubble,” Rodolfo Espinal told AFP on Tuesday, as he waited for information on his loved ones.

About 300 rescue workers combed mounds of fallen bricks, steel bars and tin sheets for survivors, supported by personnel from Puerto Rico and Israel, Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the Emergency Operations Center, said on Wednesday.

Also among the dead were former Major League Baseball players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco.

Dotel, who was 51 years old, was rescued alive but later died of his injuries, local media reported.

A black-and-white photo of Dotel and images of the Dominican flag were projected onto the scoreboard at Citi Field in New York before Tuesday’s game between the New York Mets and the Miami Marlins.

“Peace to his soul,” the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League wrote in separate social media posts paying tribute to the two ex-players.

Local media said there were between 500 and 1,000 people in the club when disaster struck at around 12:44 am (0444 GMT) Tuesday. The club has capacity for about 1,700 people.

The death toll had reached 113 by Wednesday morning, said Mendez of the Emergency Operations Center.