The first ominous signs at the Jet Set nightclub came around midnight, when sprinkles of plaster and water from the ceiling landed on some of the hundreds of bankers, politicians, civil servants and former baseball players crowded inside Santo Domingo’s most popular club for a live concert.
About 40 minutes later, early on April 8, a heavy slab crashed down and split a table in two, the final warning that something terrible was about to happen at a club with a history of noise complaints and a collection of heavy air-conditioning equipment and water tanks on its leaky roof.
Moments later, the roof collapsed in a thunderous clap, killing 232 people and trapping nearly 200 others under a pile of concrete, machinery and other debris.
The Jet Set disaster has stunned the Dominican Republic and focused attention on what critics say is a glaring national weakness: the government does not routinely inspect the country’s aging structures. At least seven other buildings, including a furniture store, shopping center and office building, have collapsed in recent years, with fatal results.
“God warned us, but the music and the party didn’t let people hear it,” said Nelson Pimentel, 65, who was at Jet Set with friends from a seniors club. “When the first piece fell with the water, I looked up and saw what looked like repairs. I work in construction, and I can tell you: that construction looked very old.”
When the larger piece fell, he said, people had about 15 seconds to run. Ten of his friends did not make it.
