Home Industries Hospitality & Tourism Federal Hill restaurateur dies in Dominican nightclub roof collapse

Federal Hill restaurateur dies in Dominican nightclub roof collapse

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PBN Staff

-

04/09/2025

PEOPLE SEARCHING for their missing relatives peruse a list of names outside the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Tuesday. Fray Luis Rosario, a Federal Hill restaurateur, was among the dead. / ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO/RICARDO HERNANDEZ

PROVIDENCE – A Federal Hill restaurateur was among the deaths in the roof collapse that killed 124 people in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. In a post on X Wednesday, the Federal Hill Commerce Association confirmed that Fray Luis Rosario was killed when the roof of the Jet Set club in Santo Domingo collapsed. Rosario

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PROVIDENCE – A Federal Hill restaurateur was among the deaths in the roof collapse that killed 124 people in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. In a post on X Wednesday, the Federal Hill Commerce Association confirmed that Fray Luis Rosario was killed when the roof of the Jet Set club in Santo Domingo collapsed. Rosario operated both the Terra Luna Cafe and Terra Negra Cantina, as well as owned property on Federal Hill, according to the post. “Fray was an active member of the Federal Hill Commerce Association, a dynamic entrepreneur and a caring, well-respected employer,” the post said. “On behalf of Board of Directors and the members of the Federal Hill Commerce Association, we offer our deepest condolences and prayers to the Rosario family, as well as the partners and team members of Terra Luna and Terra Negra."

“Personally, I will miss Fray's sense of humor his creative spirit and commitment to his culture. Rest in peace my friend,” Federal Hill Commerce Association President Rick Simone said in the post.

The Jet Set club in Santo Domingo was packed with musicians, professional athletes and government officials when dust began falling from the ceiling and into people’s drinks early on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday. Minutes later, the entire roof collapsed. Concrete slabs killed some instantly and trapped dozens of others on a dance floor where hundreds had been dancing to a merengue concert. In the minutes that followed, the country’s 911 system received more than 100 calls, many from people buried under rubble. Among the dead was merengue icon Rubby Pérez, who had been singing to the crowd before the roof collapsed. His body was found early Wednesday, said Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Center of Emergency Operations. Rescue crews were still searching for survivors more than 24 hours after the collapse. Officials said Wednesday they have rescued 145 survivors from the wreckage of the nightclub. Rescue crews from Puerto Rico and Israel arrived Wednesday to help with the search, the AP reported. Officials said crews used sonar to detect what could be one person still breathing under the rubble. Santo Domingo Mayor Carolina Mejía praised what she said were acts of love, including one Dominican who was handing out coffee to those at the scene and a man on vacation from Costa Rica who joined the search because he’s part of a rescue crew back home. Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.