News & Current Events
Nightclub Disaster That Killed 236 Traced To Shocking Cause—Owners Now Face Charges
In the Dominican Republic, an investigation has been in progress since more than 200 people were killed when the roof of a nightclub collapsed.
At least 300 partygoers and employees, including two former Major League Baseball players, were impacted when the roof of the Jet Set club in Santo Domingo collapsed in early April of this year.
That particular night, Rubby Pérez was on stage. Unfortunately, the beloved Dominican merengue singer also perished in the incident.
Antonio and Maribel Espaillat, the club’s proprietors, were arrested and placed under arrest on June 12 after the Public Prosecutor’s Office conducted an inquiry into the case.
According to the New York Times, both have been charged with involuntary homicide.
“Both defendants displayed immense irresponsibility and negligence by failing to physically intervene to prevent the club’s roof from collapsing, as it ultimately did, causing 236 deaths and more than 180 injuries,” the Attorney General’s Office of the Dominican Republic said in a statement regarding their detention.
According to Dominican Today, the club’s renovations were carried out “without obtaining the required permits or conducting the necessary structural assessments from the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) or the Mayor’s Office of the National District.”
Prosecutors claimed that these modifications showed “a complete disregard for building and safety laws.”
They also stated, “A key column in the structure was subsequently removed, significantly affecting the roof’s stability, without any professional assessment or permit to support the modification, demonstrating high-risk behaviour.”
Heavy elements were also said to have overloaded the Jet Set Club’s roof.
The Espaillats allegedly knew of the building’s structural problems “through visual reports (photos and videos) and communications from their employees,” yet they decided to overlook the difficulties.
Given all of this, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has maintained that if the defendants had followed the law and put life before money, the events of April 8 “would have been entirely avoidable.”
prosecutors continued: “The defendant, Maribel Espaillat, was aware of a falling debris incident hours before the collapse and in response to a request to suspend the activity, refused to do so, citing the absence of the defendant Antonio Espaillat López and the impossibility of stopping the party, prioritising economic gain over the safety and lives of people.”
There is no indication that a trial date has been scheduled for the two.
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