Rescuers were racing to find survivors among the rubble of a Dominican Republic night club where at least 27 people died and dozens were hurt in an early-morning roof collapse.
Some 400 rescue personnel were at the Jet Set nightclub on Tuesday in the Caribbean nation's capital, Santo Domingo, authorities said, with dozens of ambulances on standby.
Local media said there were between 500 and 1,000 people in the club when the roof came down following a sudden blackout during a performance by renowned merengue singer Rubby Perez, who was also trapped in the rubble.
Among the dead was the governor of the Monte Cristi municipality, Nelsy Cruz, who died of her injuries in the hospital, according to President Luis Abinader.
"So far we have 27 (dead)," Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the Emergency Operations Center (COE), told journalists, putting the number of injured at more than 150.
"We are rescuing all the people we can save alive and recovering those bodies we find along the way. But we have focused on people we can rescue alive because we hear them asking for help," Mendez added.
Local media speculate that the fire was probably caused by the use of pyrotechnic devices.
Lead singer still missing
Merengue singer Rubby Perez, who was performing when the roof came crashing down, is among the missing.
Perez's daughter Zulinka said the singer, 69, was still at the scene of the disaster.
"I don't know if they have him in an ambulance because they're not letting me through."
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said on X that the government had "been following the case minute by minute since it happened" before rushing to the scene himself.
"The main objective is to save lives... We are deeply affected," he said on his arrival.
