Nightclub Owner Says He’s ‘Completely Destroyed’ Over Roof Collapse That Killed 232, Including Ex-MLB Players

Antonio Espaillat vowed to “face everything” as Dominican authorities begin investigating the deadly April 8 collapse

The owner of the Dominican nightclub whose roof collapsed earlier this month, killing 232 people, said this week he is “completely destroyed” over the tragedy and vowed to “face everything” as family members, the media and investigators search for answers.

“To the families of the victims, I want to say I’m sorry. I’m very sorry,” Jet Set nightclub owner Antonio Espaillat said during an extended local TV interview on Wednesday, April 23, according to the Associated Press. “I am completely destroyed.”

Espaillat’s nearly hour-long interview with local Telesistema marks the 58-year-old nightclub owner’s first sit down since the deadly April 8 tragedy.

Previously, the nightclub owner said in a social media statement the incident was “devastating for everyone” and told victims’ family members that he and others in charge of the nightclub “share your anguish.”

“There are no words to express the pain this event has caused,” he had said.

Espaillat, whose mother founded the Santo Domingo-based nightclub when he was 6 years old, told Telesistema’s El Dia program this week that “there was no warning” that the roof of the building was unstable. “We were all surprised,” he said, according to the AP.

However, Espaillat told El Dia that the roof had routine water filtration issues for years stemming from its air conditioning units, and that the problems would routinely be fixed by putting up new plasterboard.

“We always bought plasterboard. Always,” he said.

The collapse occurred while roughly 515 people were in the nightclub during a performance by renowned merengue singer Rubby Pérez. Perez, 69, was among those who died.

The death toll also included former MLB players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco, as well as Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern Dominican Republic province of Montecristi and sister of former Major League Baseball star Nelson Cruz.

Espaillat told El Dia that he learned about the nightclub collapse when his sister called him from under the rubble. He was in Las Vegas for a convention, the AP reported.

The nightclub owner also vowed to cooperate with an investigation spearheaded by a Dominican Republic committee, which reportedly includes local and international experts and investigators.

“I’m going to face everything,” Antonio Espaillat said. “I’m not going anywhere.”