A former Pirates pitcher that played for a dozen other teams during a 15-year MLB career has reportedly died after the roof of a popular Dominican Republic collapsed.
According to baseball insider Hector Gomez, Octavio Dotel died while being taken to a hospital.
Dotel was reportedly one of the many people trapped after the ceiling of the one-story Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo collapsed early Tuesday.
Dotel was pulled from the rubble alive after being trapped before being pulled from debris.
The 51-year-old appeared in 41 games for the Pirates in 2010 going 2-2 with a 4.28 ERA. He was the Pirates closer the first half of the season, posting 21 saves.
"I want to offer condolences to the Dotel family," said Pirates manager Derek Shelton. "Obviously, Octavio played here. He was in the league when I was coaching. And to Nelson Cruz, he lost a sister. Nelson is a very dear and personal friend of mind and people in our clubhouse, thoughts and prayers go out.”
Dotel was traded at the deadline to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitcher James McDonald and infielder/outfielder Andrew Lambo.
AP Story:
Crews were searching for potential survivors in the rubble at the one-story Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, said Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Center of Emergency Operations.
“We presume that many of them are still alive, and that is why the authorities here will not give up until not a single person remains under that rubble,” he said.
Nearly 12 hours after the top of the nightclub collapsed down onto patrons, rescue crews were still pulling out survivors from the debris. At the scene, firefighters removed blocks of broken concrete and sawed planks of wood to use them as planks to lift heavy debris as the noise of drills breaking through concrete filled the air.
Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi and sister of seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star Nelson Cruz, was among the victims.
She had called President Luis Abinader at 12:49 a.m. saying she was trapped and that the roof had collapsed, First Lady Raquel Abraje told reporters. Officials said Cruz died later at the hospital.
“This is too great a tragedy,” Abraje said in a broken voice.
Meanwhile, the injured include former MLB pitcher Octavio Dotel, legislator Bray Vargas and merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was performing when the roof collapsed, officials said.
His manager, Enrique Paulino, whose shirt was spattered with blood, told reporters at the scene that the concert began shortly before midnight, with the roof collapsing almost an hour later, killing the group's saxophonist.
“It happened so quickly. I managed to throw myself into a corner,” he said, adding that he initially thought it was an earthquake.
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the roof to collapse.
Jet Set issued a statement saying it was cooperating with authorities. “The loss of human life leaves us in a state of deep pain and dismay,” it said.
Manuel Olivo Ortiz, whose son attended the concert but did not return home, was among those anxiously waiting outside the club known for its traditional parties held on Monday where renowned national and international artists perform.
“We're holding on only to God,,” Olivo said.
Also awaiting word was Massiel Cuevas, godmother of 22-year-old Darlenys Batista.
“I'm waiting for her. She's in there, I know she's in there,” Cuevas said, firm in her belief that Batista would be pulled out alive.
President Abinader wrote on X that all rescue agencies are “working tirelessly” to help those affected.
“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub. We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred,” he wrote.
Abinader arrived at the scene and hugged those looking for friends and family, some with tears streaming down their faces.
“We have faith in God that we will rescue even more people alive,” he told reporters.
An official with a megaphone stood outside the club imploring the large crowd that had gathered to search for friends and relatives to give ambulances space.
“You have to cooperate with authorities, please,” he said. “We are removing people.”
At one hospital where the injured were taken, an official stood outside reading aloud the names of survivors as a crowd gathered around her and yelled out the names of their loved ones.
Meanwhile, dozens of people gathered at the National Institute of Forensic Pathology, which projected pictures of the victims so their loved ones could identify them.
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Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.