THE heroic final moments of former MLB player Tony Blanco have been revealed after he was confirmed to be among the 124 killed in the Dominican Republic nightclub collapse.
Blanco, 43, and former MLB player Esteban Germán were in the Jet Set nightclub together in Santo Domingo when the roof caved in early on Tuesday morning.
The death toll continues to rise and more than 150 have been injured after the ceiling caved in while merengue singer Rubby Pérez performed to a crowd of 300 people at around 1 am.
Blanco, a former first baseman with the Washington Nationals, was killed in the chaos, along with MLB legend Octavio Dotel and Nelsy Cruz, the sister of MLB All-Star Nelson Cruz.
Germán, who miraculously made it out of the club alive, revealed that Blanco made a selfless move in his final moments.
He told MLB insider Héctor Gómez that he was returning from the bathroom at Jet Set when the roof started to crumble.
Blanco pushed Germán out of the way when he realized the ceiling was about to fall on him, Germán said.
Germán posted videos of Pérez, who was later confirmed to have been killed in the collapse, performing on Instagram just moments before the tragedy.
After the roof caved in, Germán shared a heartbreaking update on his Instagram Story.
“I’m fine, thanks to God,” the former Oakland A’s second baseman wrote.
He added that he was trying to help at the scene, where first responders are still working around the clock to rescue victims.
The MLB later confirmed Blanco’s death with a statement honoring the baseball player.
The Dominican native began his career in the American minor league before being drafted for a season with the Washington Nationals in 2005.
Blanco ended his career in Japan playing for multiple teams with the Nippon Professional League before retiring in 2016.
He is survived by his son, Tony Blanco Jr., who is currently a minor player with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In the chaos following the tragedy, it was mistakenly reported that Henry Blanco, a former MLB catcher and coach, was caught at the nightclub during the collapse.
However, the Washington Nationals confirmed Henry wasn’t at the scene because he was in the US with them at the time.
[boxout headline=”MLB Commissioner’s statement” intro=”MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred shared a statement about the Jet Set nightclub collapse.”]“Major League Baseball is deeply saddened by the passings of Octavio Dotel, Tony Blanco, Nelsy Cruz and all the victims of last night’s tragedy in Santo Domingo,” Manfred said.
“We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of all those who have been affected and to our colleague Nelson and his entire family.
“The connection between baseball and the Dominican Republic runs deep, and we are thinking of all the Dominican players and fans across the game today.”
It was also previously reported that Dotel survived the collapse after being pulled from the rubble of the nightclub.
A Dominican National Police spokesperson later confirmed Dotel died while he was being taken to the hospital.
Dotel, a Dominican native, won the World Series while playing for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011.
During his time in the Major Leagues, he played for 13 teams and set the MLB record for playing with the most organizations.
Nelsy Cruz, the governor of Montecristi, was also among the victims after she died at the hospital.
She called Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader at 12:49 am local time and told him she was trapped in the club after the roof collapsed, the president confirmed.
Another MLB Hall of Famer, Pedro Martinez, said he had family members at the Jet Set nightclub when the roof collapsed.
“I still have family members that are still in the [rubble],” the Boston Red Sox pitcher said in an Instagram post.
“We don’t know what happened to them but we just want to be strong, like we have always been.”
SEARCH CONTINUES
It’s unclear what caused the ceiling to fall.
Hours after the collapse, rescue workers were still working at the scene to try to identify survivors among the debris.
“We continue clearing debris and searching for people,” said Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Emergency Operations Center, on Tuesday night.
“We’re going to search tirelessly for people.”
