Merengue singer Rubby Pérez has been confirmed as among the 98 people killed when the roof of a popular nightclub in the Dominican Republic collapsed. He was 69.
The news was shared by his manager, Enrique Paulino, who told local media that the group’s saxophonist was also crushed to death at the renowned Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo.
Pérez’s Instagram profile picture was changed to black earlier this week.
No other details surrounding his death have been disclosed, but his daughter Zulinka Pérez had previously told local media that he was found alive in the rubble: “They found him singing,” she said. “He started singing so they could hear him.”
Zulinka, who served as a backup singer for Pérez with her husband and was present when the roof collapsed, continued: “My husband covered me, threw himself on top of me, and he got trapped. He told me, ‘Get out quickly.’
“The musicians were able to get out; the bass player is in critical condition; I think he had surgery in the hospital. And one of the saxophone players is dead.”
The Dominican musician released 13 albums during his career and was known for hits such as “Volveré”.
Originally an aspiring baseball player, he pivoted to music following a car crash that caused permanent damage to his left leg.
In his twenties, he played in youth groups before becoming a member of Wilfrido Vargas’s orchestra between 1982 to 1986, gaining international attention as he helped turn tunes such as “El Africano” into Latin American anthems.
In Venezuela, he achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success with his first solo album, Buscando Tues Besos, which went platinum in the country.
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Rescue workers are frantically searching for survivors in the rubble of the Jet Set nightclub, as the death toll nears 100 and with over 160 people injured.
Those involved in the search have said they can hear sounds of survivors in the rubble of mangled concrete and iron bars.
Among the other people confirmed dead are former Major League Baseball player Octavio Dotel, 51, and fellow baseball player Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera.
Opened in 1973, Jet Set was known for its “Jet Set Mondays” that featured local and international artists.
The club, which underwent renovations in 2010 and 2015, was struck by lightning in 2023.
Pérez and his orchestra were performing inside the one-storey club to around 300 people when the roof came crashing down at around 1am local time on Tuesday (8 April).
Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the Centre of Emergency Operations, said they were hopeful of pulling out survivors.
“We continue clearing debris and searching for people,” he said on Tuesday night. “We are going to search tirelessly for people.”
The club’s owner, Antonio Espaillat, who was out of the country and returned on Tuesday, issued a statement that said he and his team were cooperating with authorities.
“There are no words to express the pain this event has caused,” he said. “What happened has been devastating for everyone.”
The cause behind the roof collapse is currently unknown.
