Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco were among two of 113 people confirmed to have died
The roof of a nightclub which collapsed in the Dominican Republic has resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people, including two former Major League Baseball players.
Former athletes Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco were two of at least 300 people who were inside the Jet Set nightclub in the capital city of Santo Domingo when the roof of the building suddenly collapsed at around 1am local time on Tuesday morning (April 8).
The crowd was being entertained by merengue artist Rubby Pérez and his orchestra when the incident took place and prompted rescue workers to rush to the scene to begin searching through the rubble.In an update on the incident today (April 9), Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Emergency Operations Center, said at least 113 people, including Dotel, Blanco and performer Pérez, had died after the building collapsed.
At least 113 people died in the collapse (FRANCESCO SPOTORNO/AFP via Getty Images)
Dotel had been alive when he was rescued from the rubble, but he sadly died on his way to the hospital.
The Dominican Sports Ministry mourned the two players in the wake of the news, CNN reports, saying: “We share in their grief with their family, friends, and colleagues, and we offer our prayers for their eternal rest.”
