On Tuesday, April 8, the roof of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, collapsed during a merengue concert, leaving 225 dead and 20 injured.

Some victims include former Major League Baseball players Octavio Dotel and Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera. First Lady Raquel Abraje told reporters the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi, Nelsy Cruz, called President Luis Abinader at 12:49 a.m. saying the roof collapsed and she was trapped. Officials said she later died at the hospital. In a statement, Cruz’s family paid tribute to “her legacy of service and love for others.”

The merengue singer who was performing at the time of the collapse, Rubby Pérez, also died in the disaster. His manager, Enrique Paulino, told reporters at the scene that the concert began shortly before midnight, with the roof collapsing almost an hour later. “It was sudden. I thought it was an earthquake, so I threw myself to the ground and covered my head,” he said, “We tried to get to the area where Rubby was, but there was too much debris there.”

Juan Manuel Méndez, the Center of Emergency Operations Director, said teams were still working to determine the total number of people who were there at the time of the incident. Rescue crews were still pulling out survivors from the debris 12 hours after the collapse. According to emergency officials, about 300 people took part in the search and rescue operation, as well as a specialized canine unit to help search in critical, hard-to-reach areas.

Officials say it is too soon to determine what caused the roof to fall. Since the club opened in 1973, it has had two rounds of renovations and been struck by lightning. It is unknown when the club was last inspected and confirmed to be structurally secure, so whether this was a factor in the collapse is unclear. Prosecutors were able to visit the scene on Thursday after rescue crews began packing and removing heavy equipment. The Jet Set nightclub said in a statement, “We are collaborating fully and transparently with the competent authorities to help the victims and clarify what happened.”

Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic, wrote on social media, “We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub. We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred.”

“This is too great a tragedy,” the First Lady, Raquel Abraje, told reporters.