53 frantic hours of searching for survivors after the roof collapses at an iconic Dominican club

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A roof collapse at the legendary Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo has plunged the Dominican Republic into mourning.

Authorities say the disaster early Tuesday killed 222 people and injured more than 200 others. Nearly two dozen people remain hospitalized, with several in critical condition.

The biggest tragedy to strike the Dominican Republic in recent history has raised questions about the safety of infrastructure in the capital and beyond. While authorities have said it's too early to determine why the roof fell, the government has created a technical team to investigate the case.

Here's a timeline of what happened:

It was a “Jet Set Monday,” the day merengue musicians would play at the legendary club every week.

That day, acclaimed singer Rubby Pérez was to take the stage at 9 p.m. In typical Latino fashion, the music didn’t start until 11:50 p.m., according to his manager, Enrique Paulino.

As the music began, more than 400 people inside the club applauded the singer known for hits including “Volveré” and “El Africano.”

Halfway through Pérez’s set, dust from the ceiling began falling into people drinks. Minutes later, the concrete ceiling collapsed onto the crowd.

At 12:44 am, the country’s 911 system received the first of 102 calls that day, according to Randolfo Rijo Gómez, the system’s director.

Two minutes later, at 12:46 a.m., Nelsy Cruz, the governor of Montecristi and sister of seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star Nelson Cruz, called President Luis Abinader.

“She told me, ‘Send everyone over here, send all the ambulances,’” Abinader told reporters.

Cruz was rescued but died of injuries at the hospital.

Ninety seconds after the first 911 call was received, police arrived. Eight minutes after that call, the first rescue units arrived.

In less than 25 minutes, authorities activated 25 soldiers, seven firefighting brigades and 77 ambulances, Gómez said.

They deployed dogs, thermal cameras and dozens of specialized equipment.

In his first press conference about the disaster, emergency operations director Juan Manuel Méndez said that at least 13 people had died and more than 70 were injured.

By that afternoon, the number of victims rose to 58 as more than 100 people donated blood at different centers across the capital.

Meanwhile, a crowd of anxious people looking for their loved ones pressed around the remains of the club, forcing authorities to grab a megaphone and ask that they make room for the dozens of ambulances.

The victims identified that day included former MLB players Octavio Dotel and Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera; Luis Solís, the saxophonist who was playing onstage when the roof collapsed; and the son of the public works minister.

By the end of the day, authorities announced that the number of victims had surged to 98, with the last survivor found early that afternoon.

In the predawn hours, rescue crews from Puerto Rico and Israel arrived to help local officials search for survivors and victims.

A collective cry was heard when Méndez, the emergency operations director, confirmed they had found the body of Rubby Pérez.

The number of victims soared to 184 as dozens of people began gathering at hospitals and the country’s forensic institute in search of their loved ones.

Wakes were held for Dotel and Pérez in the afternoon, with hundreds of people paying their respects, including MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martínez, who said he knew some 50 people who died at Jet Set.

More than 20 victims were identified as being from Haina, the hometown of Pérez located just southwest of Santo Domingo. Its mayor said officials would offer the families free funeral services.

In the evening, the government announced that it was moving to a recovery phase focused on finding bodies.

The government held a memorial for Pérez at Santo Domingo’s National Theater that hundreds attended, including the country's president and merengue superstar Juan Luis Guerra.

As the coffin was carried out to the hearse, the crowd released white balloons and spontaneously sang “Volveré.”

Meanwhile, officials in Haina held a wake for at least 10 victims, with mourners crowding around each coffin to say their final farewells.

By late morning, the emergency operations director announced that crews had finished searching for victims and potential survivors after working for 53 continuous hours. Méndez broke down as he spoke, calling it “the most difficult task I've had in 20 years."

Officials removed heavy machinery, packed their equipment and evicted people from the area as they fumigated the building.

Crews had rescued 189 people alive from the rubble.

That afternoon, the president’s spokesman, Homero Figueroa, announced that a technical team would be created to determine what caused the roof to collapse, and that national and international experts would be part of it.

Heavy rain fell as dozens of people remained outside the country’s forensics institute, still wearing face masks as they complained about the odor and demanded the bodies of their loved ones.

A screen set up nearby showed the names of victims in different colors. Those in black meant that the bodies were ready but that no one had picked them up, while those in green meant the relatives had identified them.

Under a tarp, government officials met with family members who presented official documents of their loved ones in order to pick up their remains.

Among those waiting at the forensics institute was Carlos Severino, who lost all three of his children: Dianny Escarlet Severino 31; Diego Armando Severino, 27; and Mariani Escarlet Severino, 23.

In a phone interview, Severino described them as hardworking, honest and serious.

“To describe Dianny is to describe an angel. Mariani was the joy of the home. Diego was tenacious, a worker,” he said as he began sobbing.

Doctors treating the injured at public hospitals said several of them remain in critical condition.

Dr. Julio Landrón said “a lot of them” will have permanent injuries, ranging from paralysis to a damaged finger.

The coffin on the left that contains the remains of a son of Carlos Severino, sits next to an empty coffin that will be used for the remains of another son of Severino, who lost three sons when the Jet Set nightclub roof collapsed, outside the morgue of the National Institute of Forensic Pathology in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Carlos Severino, whose three children died in the Jet Set nightclub when a roof collapsed during a merengue concert, is consoled as he waits to receive the remains of his children, outside the morgue of the National Institute of Forensic Pathology in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Family members wait to receive the remains of their loved one who died at the Jet Set nightclub days after its roof collapsed, killing more than 200 people, at the National Institute of Forensic Pathology in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A woman walks past the rubble of Jet Set nightclub days after its roof collapsed, killing more than 200 people, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A woman lights a candle at a makeshift memorial outside the Jet Set nightclub, in memory of the more than 200 people who died when its roof collapsed, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Family members wait at the morgue for the bodies of their loved one who died at the roof collapse of the Jet Set nightclub, where more than 200 people died, outside at the National Institute of Forensic Pathology in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A person points to the inside of the Jet Set nightclub days after its roof collapsed, killing more than 200 people, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Family and friends attend the funeral of Marilenny Pilarte who died at the Jet Set nightclub when its roof collapsed, in Haina, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Rescue workers search for survivors at the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed two nights prior during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)

Rescue workers carry a person pulled from the wreckage of the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)

A poster of victim Rubby Perez is seen at a makeshift vigil for the victims of the Jet Set club roof collapse in the Dominican Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader, front right ands his wife Raquel Arbaje Soni, front left, attend the wake of Dominican singer Rubby Perez who died in the roof collapse at the Jet Set nightclub during his merengue concert, at the Eduardo Brito National Theater in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

People pray for their missing relatives outside Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)

Family and friends grieve during the burial service for Marilenny Pilarte who died at the Jet Set nightclub when its roof collapsed, in Haina, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Relatives carry the coffin that contain the remains of Marilenny Pilarte who died at the Jet Set nightclub when its roof collapsed, during a burial service at a cemetery in Haina, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Family and friends attend the burial service for Marilenny Pilarte who died at the Jet Set nightclub when its roof collapsed, in Haina, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A man sleeps on bottles of water in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in front of the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a merengue concert. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Rescue workers carry the recovered body of a victim in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025 who died when the roof collapsed two nights prior at the Jet Set nightclub during a merengue concert. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

An excavator removes concrete at the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed three nights before during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Rescue workers search for bodies at the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Flowers and candles sit outside the Jet Set nightclub, placed in memory of the more than 200 people who died when its roof collapsed in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Family and friends grieve during the burial service of Marilenny Pilarte who died at the Jet Set nightclub when its roof collapsed, in Haina, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “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.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)