Former Major League Baseball star Tony Blanco has died after a nightclub ceiling collapsed on him, killing at least 45 people.
Blanco, 44, is the second ex-MLB player confirmed dead in the collapse at the Jet Set club in Santo Domingo 12.44am local time on Tuesday.
He played for the Washington Nationals in 2005 before spending eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.
Blanco’s son, Tony Blanco Jr, is a minor league player for the Bradenton Marauders after being signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Octavio Dotel was the other MLB player killed in the ceiling collapse.
Earlier on Tuesday, it was reported that he had been pulled from beneath the rubble after screaming for help. However, Dotel’s brother Angel informed El Nuevo Diario newspaper that he had actually passed away before being rescued.
‘They told us he was alive, but in reality he was dead, since last night,’ Angel said.
‘It is not true that he died on the way… The blow hit him on the head and it seems that it broke his neck.’
The Emergency Operations Center said at least 144 people have been rushed to local hospitals in the Dominican capital.
Dotel, a baseball player who won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011, was heard calling for help by first responders, as reported by Dominican television station Supercanal.
Dotel played for 13 different teams during his 15-season career in Major League Baseball. Over his tenure, he achieved a record of 59-50 with a 3.79 ERA and garnered 109 saves in 758 games, which included 34 starts.
‘I’ve been all over the place. I’ve been in every league,’ he once told ESPN in an interview. ‘Every division, too: West, Central, East. National League – boom, boom, boom. American League – boom, boom, boom.’
Dotel signed as an international free agent with the New York Mets in 1993 and debuted with the club in June 1999.
The right-hander was a main piece in the trade during the offseason to the Houston Astros for All-Star pitcher Mike Hampton in December 1999.
He spent four and a half seasons with the Astros and became a key part of their bullpen before he was sent to Oakland in June 2004.
Dotel then bounced around between the New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies between 2005 and 2010.
He joined the Toronto Blue Jays as a free agent prior to the 2011 campaign and was moved to the St Louis in July prior to the trade deadline as the Cardinals geared up for their run to their second championship in five seasons.
Dotel pitched well out of the bullpen down the stretch with a 3.28 ERA in 29 appearances.
The veteran did not allow a run in three relief appearances against the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Divisional Series, but fared well in the National League Championship Series against Milwaukee, allowing two run in four games.
Dotel pitched 2/3 scoreless innings in St. Louis’ Game 7 World Series win over the Texas Rangers.
He inked a one-year deal with a team option with the Detroit Tigers in December 2011.
An elbow injury in April 2012 sidelined him for the remainder of the season. He announced his retirement in October 2014.
Dotel’s death stunned his contemporaries in the baseball community.
‘My brother, this is a pain in my soul. Thank you for being a friend, a brother, and a good one at that,’ Dotel’s former Cardinals teammate Yadier MoIina wrote in an Instagram post. ‘I will always remember you, brother, and the moments we lived through. Thank you for all the moments, leader! We lost a joyful soul!! Rest in peace, my soulmate!’
‘Shocking news, we lost a great person and ball player!’ Venezuelan great Omar Vizquel wrote on X. ‘RIP Octavio Dotel and my deep condolences to his family and all the people affected by this tragedy.’
Longtime baseball writer Jason Stark described Dotel one of his ‘favorite people’ in an X post.
‘In 2019, Edwin Jackson broke his record of most teams pitched for (with 14). So I called him,’ Stark wrote.
”If you got released, that’s cheating,’ Dotel said. ‘So he’s cheating because he got released three times.’ We’ll miss him!’
Dotel, who was a regular in the Dominican Republic nightlife scene, was arrested along with former major leaguer Luis Castillo in August 2019 on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. But both were cleared of any wrongdoing a month later by a judge.
Dotel was sitting near the front of the stage during merengue icon Rubby Pérez’s live performance at Jet Set nightclub when a section of the ceiling plummeted around 12:44 am Tuesday.
Footage shared on social media showed Pérez, who had two hits in Billboard chart lists, performing on stage when parts of the ceiling came crushing down on the dancing crowd and the performers.
Pérez’s’ daughter and band vocalist, Zulinka Pérez, told reporters that the legendary artist remained trapped under the rubble and that he sang as a way to draw the attention of rescue crew workers.
First responders are continuing to search for survivors by utilizing thermal cameras that can detect victims’ body heat signatures.
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader confirmed those dead include Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the province of Montecristi, and sister of another former Major League Baseball player, Nelson Cruz.
In a video, a male clubgoer pointed toward an area of the nightclub away from the stage and noticed that something was wrong with the ceiling.
‘Oh, something fell from above, you see? Something fell from the ceiling,’ the guest said.
A woman, who appeared to be with the man recording the video, could be heard screaming, ‘Dad, what happened to you?’
A separate video showed multiple guests looking at a lighting structure that was attached to the ceiling when the roof came crashing down.
Music promoter Carlos Bautista, who survived the accident, told reporters that he was not sure how he was able to escape through a section of a wall that was so small that only could fit.
He said there were at least 850 guests in attendance at the weekly Monday party – a staple of Jet Set, which first opened its doors in 1973 as a restaurant and club.
The nightclub was briefly shut down due to a fire on July 25, 2023 after its electricity room was struck by lightning.
In a statement, Jet Set said it is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
‘Last night, a tragedy struck a deep note in the hearts of all of us who are part of Jet Set and all Dominicans,’ the nightclub said. ‘The loss of life leaves us in a state of profound pain and dismay.
‘In this difficult time, our prayers are with each of the affected families. We share their pain as if it were our own, because we are also in mourning.
‘We are collaborating fully and transparently with the corresponding authorities to assist the victims and clarify what happened.’
