Owner of Nightclub Where Hundreds Died Finally Explains What Happened

The owner of the collapsed Dominican Republic nightclub has broken his silence.

Antonio Espaillat, who also serves as manager of the Jet Set nightclub in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo, sat with local TV outlet Telesistema on Wednesday to discuss the roof collapse. 

During the interview, Espaillat stated the club had filtration problems for decades and new plasterboard had been placed on the roof hours before the collapse.

"We always bought plasterboard. Always,” said Espaillat of the tragedy, which claimed the lives of 232 people.

Espaillat explained that over the years, sections of plasterboard had repeatedly come loose, often due to water seeping in through the club's air conditioning system. However, despite these ongoing issues, he stated that the roof and water filtration problems were never formally inspected.

“To the families of the victims, I want to say I’m sorry. I’m very sorry,” Espaillat said. “I am completely destroyed.

Related: Nightclub Owner Breaks Silence After Roof Collapse Kills Hundreds

Espaillat disclosed that he had only learned of the roof’s collapse when his sister called him from under the debris while he was at a Las Vegas convention. Looking back, Espaillat expressed deep regret, saying he would have taken any necessary steps to p[prevent the collapse if he had known what could be done.

“There was no warning, nothing. We were all surprised,” he said.

Among the 232 killed were merengue singer Rubby Pérez, former Major League Baseball players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco and Nelsy Cruz, the sister of seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star Nelson Cruz. Since the accident, several lawsuits have been filed.