Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) - A night of partying ends in a nightmare: on Tuesday, the roof of a nightclub coll apsed in the capital of the Dominican Republic . 18 people lost their lives and around 100 were injured.

As La Voz reports, a catastrophic tragedy occurred in the Dominican Republic: during a performance by popular merengue star Rubby Pérez , the roof of the "Jet Set" nightclub collapsed at 0.44 am, burying several people underneath it. The famous singer, who was on stage at the time, was also among the injured.

Since then, dozens of rescue workers have been working desperately to rescue survivors from the wreckage. "We assume that many are still alive and we will not give up until there is no one left under the rubble," explained the head of the emergency operations center.

77 ambulances, eight fire department units and officers from the local police and civil defense are on site to support the operation.

More than 300 people were in the club when a loud bang shook the area just before the collapse, followed by a huge cloud of dust, eyewitnesses reported.

Desperate family members wait outside the club, demanding information about their loved ones who may still be under the rubble. "It's a terrible sight. We don't know if they are alive or not," a worried relative reportedly said.

In an emotional message, President Luis Abinader (57) expressed his deepest condolences on Platform X and promised a thorough investigation.

Initial theories point to structural faults or an explosion as possible causes, but so far none of these hypotheses have been confirmed.