Thus far, 189 people have been rescued alive from the Jet Set nightclub collapse in Santo Domingo. Hope is fading for families awaiting word on their loved ones trapped under rubble after the roof of a Dominican Republic nightclub collapsed earlier this week, as the death toll climbed to 218 on Thursday morning.

Nearly 200 people were killed in the Dominican Republic after the roof of an iconic nightclub collapsed in what has become one of the country’s deadliest tragedies in decades.

A devastating roof collapse at a popular nightclub in the capital of the Dominican Republic has claimed at least 124 lives, authorities said on Wednesday, as the search for survivors turns increasingly grim.

Rubby Pérez, the singer who was performing on Tuesday when the ceiling of the Jet Set nightclub collapsed in Santo Domingo, claiming at least 124 lives including his own, spent his long career devoted to merengue,

At least 66 people have been killed and more than 150 injured after a roof collapsed at a nightclub in the Dominican Republic's capital Santo Domingo, officials have said. A provincial governor and former Major League Baseball pitcher Octavio Dotel were among the victims.

The scene at the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, where the roof collapsed early Tuesday killing at least 184, was increasingly grim as bodies but no more survivors were recovered.

Rescue crews are combing through the rubble left behind after the roof of a crowded nightclub collapsed in the Dominican Republic, killing 66 and injuring more than 150 others. NBC News’ Priscilla Thompson reports.

Relatives of merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was performing, initially said that he had been rescued, but later Tuesday, officials said rescue crews were still looking for Pérez.