SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The owner of a popular nightclub in the Dominican Republic where a roof collapsed, resulting in the death of 232 people earlier this month, revealed that the building had been dealing with filtration issues over the course of several decades. The owner disclosed that the roof had been repeatedly repaired with plasterboard.
Antonio Espaillat, who is both the owner and manager of the Jet Set nightclub located in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, gave his first interview since the tragic incident on April 8 during a conversation with local TV station Telesistema on Wednesday.
Espaillat told a reporter with El Día news program that employees had added new plasterboard to the roof hours before the collapse.
Espaillat highlighted that issues such as water infiltration from the club’s air conditioning units had caused plasterboard to fall multiple times throughout the years. Despite these recurring problems, Espaillat mentioned that there had never been any inspections conducted on the roof or water filtration systems.
“We always bought plasterboard. Always,” said Espaillat, who spoke in a subdued manner throughout the nearly one-hour interview.
A spokeswoman for Espaillat did not return a message for comment seeking an interview with him.
Espaillat said he learned about the collapse when his sister called him from underneath the debris, trapped along with hundreds of others attending a concert by beloved merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was among those killed.
“To the families of the victims, I want to say I’m sorry. I’m very sorry,” Espaillat said. “I am completely destroyed.”
‘We were all surprised’
Espaillat said he was 6 years old when his mother founded the legendary club 52 years ago. The club later moved to a space occupied by a shuttered movie theater and remained in that location for 30 years until the collapse.
He said there were six air-conditioning units on the roof, plus three water tanks. An electric plant was installed in an adjacent room, not on the roof, he added.
Every six to eight years, a specialized crew would waterproof the roof, with the last waterproofing done about a month before the collapse, he said.
The heavy woofers that boomed music at Jet Set, known for its merengue parties held every Monday, were on the floor, he said.
Espaillat said if there was something he could have done to avoid the collapse, he would have done it.
“There was no warning, nothing. We were all surprised,” he said.
‘I’m going to face everything’
The Dominican government has created a committee that includes local and international experts tasked with investigating the collapse.
About 515 people were at Jet Set when the roof fell on the crowd, according to Espaillat.
In the 53 hours following the disaster, crews rescued 189 survivors. Dozens of others were hospitalized.
The 232 victims include seven doctors; a retired U.N. official; former MLB players Octavio Dotel and Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera; and Nelsy Cruz, the governor of Montecristi province and sister of seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star Nelson Cruz,
At least three lawsuits have been filed.
Espaillat, who said he usually attended Jet Set’s Monday merengue parties, was in Las Vegas for a convention when his sister called.
“How can a roof collapse?” he recalled wondering as he flew back to the Dominican Republic.
Espaillat said he did not immediately visit the site upon arriving because officials worried about his safety, noting that people at the scene were angry.
He said he hasn’t slept much since the disaster, and that he has talked to the families of his employees and some of the victim’s relatives.
“I’m going to face everything,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
An ongoing investigation
The investigation into what caused the collapse could take a couple of months and has raised questions about the safety of infrastructure across Santo Domingo and beyond.
There is currently no government agency tasked with inspecting the buildings of private businesses in the Dominican Republic, although President Luis Abinader announced last week that new legislation is expected to change that.
Yamil Castillo, a structural engineer and vice president of the Society of Engineers of Puerto Rico, said water leaks can be extremely damaging and should be taken care of immediately.
Castillo, who is not involved in investigating the collapse, warned that water seeping into the different materials that compose a roof can weigh it down, in addition to whatever else is placed on the roof, including air conditioning units.
Salty air also cause corrosion and roof damage, he said.
“Those leaks should have been fixed,” Castillo said, adding that replacing the plasterboard was not enough.
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