Dominican National Police confirmed that former major league players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco were among more than 110 people killed when the roof of an iconic nightclub in the Dominican Republic collapsed early Tuesday.
Officials said at least 113 people were killed, including Nelcy Cruz, governor of the northwestern province of Monte Cristi and sister of seven-time MLB All-Star Nelson Cruz. Another 255 were injured.
The collapse occurred around 1 a.m. during a merengue concert at the Jet Set nightclub in the Dominican capital Santo Domingo that attracted athletes, politicians and others. It was not immediately clear what caused the roof to collapse.
“Major League Baseball is deeply saddened by the deaths of Octavio Dotel, Tony Blanco, Nelsy Cruz and all the victims of last night’s tragedy in Santo Domingo,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “We send our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those affected and to our colleague Nelson and his entire family.
“The connection between baseball and the Dominican Republic runs deep, and we are thinking of all Dominican players and fans across the game today.”
MLB Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark said the union stands in solidarity with the Dominican community “in this time of unspeakable grief.”
“We extend our condolences to all those affected and send a special message of support to the families of Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco, who have left an unspeakable void with their deaths, and to Nelson Cruz, whose family has lost a bright light with the death of his sister, Nelsy,” he said in a statement.
The Dominican Republic’s Professional Baseball League confirmed Dotel’s death on social media.
Dotel , who had 36 saves for the Houston Astros and Athletics in 2004, was nearly six months into the collapse He was pulled from the rubble hours later and taken to a hospital.
“Dotel was taken to a designated hospital. On the way there, his condition deteriorated and he died,” said Dominican National Police spokesman Diego Pesquera.
Dotel, 51, began his major league career in 1999 with the New York Mets, who observed a moment of silence for Dotel before Tuesday’s game. In 2011, he helped the St. Louis Cardinals win a World Series. In his 15 years in the majors with 13 teams, Dotel recorded 109 saves and logged a 3.78 ERA.
Rescue workers were still searching for potential survivors Wednesday, more than 24 hours after the collapse. Firefighters removed broken concrete blocks and used pieces of sawn wood as planks to lift heavy debris as the air filled with the sound of drills breaking through concrete during the search.
The decision comes a day after Eflin was forced to sit out his start in the series opener on Monday night. He had an MRI on Tuesday, and while the team was optimistic about the injury, the Orioles still decided to rest the veteran for a bit before Tuesday’s loss.
In fact, the right-hander woke up feeling better on Tuesday, a day after sitting out the series opener with shoulder fatigue.
“It’s really encouraging news that he woke up this morning feeling really good,” Hyde said before the loss. “It didn’t feel too bad, and that’s a positive sign there. … We’re keeping our fingers crossed.”
Eflin gave up just one run and four hits in six innings but his momentum slowed in the sixth. The 30-year-old cited Hyde’s fatigue in the inning, which was enough to shut him down for the night.
At least 113 people were killed and more than 150 injured in the incident that took place at the Jet Set club just before 01:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on Tuesday, officials said.
Hundreds of guests were at the popular venue attending a concert by merengue singer Ruby Perez.
Perez, as well as former Major League Baseball player Octavio Dotel and a provincial governor, are among those confirmed dead.
Mobile phone footage recorded inside the club, which has been verified by the BBC, shows Perez singing on stage while the man recording is heard speaking.
“Something fell from the roof,” the man recording says, as his finger is seen pointing towards the ceiling.
In the footage, Perez can be seen looking at the area the man is pointing at.
Less than 30 seconds later, a sound is heard and the recording fades to black as a woman can be heard screaming “Dad, what happened to you?”.
Her 69-year-old father, however, was trapped for hours.
According to Zulinka, he survived the fall and was able to be led to his location by emergency workers.
“They saw him singing, he started singing so they could hear him,” she told local media.
But at around 17:00 local time, more than 16 hours after the tragedy, Zulinka was told by rescue workers at the scene that his father had died before they could free him.
Octavio Dotel, a former Major League Baseball pitcher, was among those who died after being pulled from the wreckage.
Montecristi Governor Nelsy Milagros Cruz Martinez was also among the dead, according to the National Police and the office of Abinadar. She was the sister of former MLB star Nelson Cruz, who shared a statement on social media from the Cruz Martinez family that said his “legacy of service and love for others will live on forever in our hearts.” Major League Baseball is deeply saddened by the deaths of Octavio Dotel, Tony Blanco, Nelsy Cruz and all the victims of last night’s tragedy in Santo Domingo,” MLB Commissioner of Baseball Robert Manfred Jr. said in a statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those affected and our deepest sympathies to all of the family. The connection between baseball and the Dominican Republic runs deep, and our thoughts are with all Dominican players and fans across the game today.”
