In April, the roof of the Dominican Republic-based club collapsed

An investigation has been conducted in the Dominican Republic after the collapse of a nightclub roof ki.lled over 200 people.

In early April, the roof of the Jet Set club in Santo Domingo collapsed onto at least 300 party-goers and staff members, including two former MLB players.

On that night, Rubby Pérez was performing. Sadly, the well-loved Dominican merengue singer lo.st his life in the o.rdeal as well.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office carried out an investigation into the matter and the club’s owners, siblings Antonio and Maribel Espaillat, have since been arrested and were taken into custody on June 12.

Both have been charged with involuntary homicide, according to the New York Times.

Dominican Republic’s Attorney General’s Office said in a statement about their detainment: “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 d.ea.ths and more than 180 injuries.”

According to reports from Dominican Today, Renovations made to the club were reportedly made ‘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’.

These changes demonstrated ‘a complete disregard for building and safety laws’, said prosecutors.

In their allegations, they added: “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 behavior.”

Additoonally, the roof of the Jet Set Club was said to have been overloaded with heavy elements.

It is thought that the Espaillats are aware of the structural issues the building had ‘through visual reports (photos and videos) and communications from their employees’, but they chose to ignore concerns.

With all this in mind, the Public Prosecutor’s Office have argued that the events that unfolded on April 8 ‘would have been entirely avoidable if the defendants had acted according to the law and valued life over money’.

Prosecutors went on: “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, prioritizing economic gain over the safety and lives of people.”

It isn’t a thought a trial date for the pair has been set yet.