Roof collapse at Dominican Republic nightclub kills 44 including ex-baseball player and politician

At least 44 people have died after a roof collapsed at a nightclub in the Dominican Republic.

They included a provincial governor and former Major League Baseball pitcher Octavio Dotel, authorities said. Dotel, 51, died on the way to hospital after being pulled from the debris, the sports ministry said.

It is not yet clear what caused the incident, which happened in the early hours of Tuesday during a concert by the popular merengue singer Rubby Pérez, at the Jet Set discotheque in the capital, Santo Domingo.

More than 150 people were injured and efforts to free people from the rubble are continuing. Around 400 search and rescue workers have been deployed to the site.

The director of the Emergency Operations Centre (COE), Juan Manuel Méndez, said he was hopeful that many of those buried under the collapsed roof were still alive.

Jet Set is a popular nightclub in Santo Domingo which regularly hosts dance music concerts on Monday evenings. Politicians, athletes and other prominent figures were in attendance.

Also among the victims was Nelsy Cruz, governor of Monte Cristi province, President Luis Abinader said. She was the sister of former baseball player Nelson Cruz, a seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star.

Dotel meanwhile began playing for the New York Mets in 1999 and played for teams including the Houston Astros, Oakland A's, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers until 2013.

Video footage apparently taken inside the club shows people sitting at tables in front of the stage and some dancing to the music in the back while Rubby Pérez sings.