Dominican-born Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez said Wednesday he has family members unaccounted for who were inside the Santo Domingo nightclub when its roof collapsed.
The 53-year-old Martinez was born in Manoguayabo, about 10 miles west of the Dominican Republic's capital city. At least 124 people were killed and hundreds more injured when the roof collapsed early Tuesday.
“We are all affected,” he said. “I still have family members who are still in the rubbles and we don’t know what happened to them. But we just want to be strong, like we have always been. We’re a country that prays a lot and remains united all the time, so I just hope everybody has the same courage.”
Authorities confirmed former major league pitcher Octavio Dotel and former major league utility player Tony Blanco were among the dead. Also killed was Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the Monte Cristi province in the country and sister of seven-time MLB All-Star Nelson Cruz.
Dozens of people clad in black and white streamed into a funeral home Wednesday to pay their respects to Dotel.
“This has been devastating for our country,” former sports minister Danilo Díaz told TV station CDN. “He was always positive, a collaborator, a friend.”
Hall of Fame inductee David Ortiz, formerly of the Boston Red Sox, told reporters that the number of people who attended Dotel’s wake spoke volumes.
“He was a person whom everyone loved. It’s very hard, very hard, truly,” said Ortiz, who recalled how he spoke with Dotel almost every day. “He was very funny. Octavio was a guy who was a fighter.”
The Jet Set club was packed with musicians, professional athletes and government officials when dust began falling from the ceiling and into people’s drinks early Tuesday. Minutes later, the entire roof collapsed. Concrete slabs killed some instantly and trapped dozens of others on a dancefloor where hundreds had been dancing to a lively merengue concert.
“It is with a heavy heart that it is my turn to actually send condolences to all our family members and the people here in the United States who have family over there,” Martinez said. “We’re all sad."
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Rescue workers search for survivors at the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eddy Vittini)
U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as an ongoing crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.
Trump said late Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night.
Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces. It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
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The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.
The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.
Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.
“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.
Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.
Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.
Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.
Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.
Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.
A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.
Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.
Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.
The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.
Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
