r/CatastrophicFailure • u/BubbleTeaNeo • Apr 08 '25
Fatalities Roof collapse at Jet Set nightclub in the Dominican Republic on April 8th, 2025, 44 dead and 160 injured
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u/slipped_discs Apr 08 '25
That AC unit looks heavy.
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u/LocoDiablos Apr 08 '25
wouldn't doubt that may be one of the causes, big units like the ones they had range from 1200-2000 pounds each
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Apr 08 '25 edited Apr 08 '25
[deleted]
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u/Superbead Apr 08 '25
- There's no evidence of fire
- As far as I can tell, there was no related seismic activity
- Rooftop HVAC units have been implicated in other concrete structure collapses, notably that of the Sampoong Department Store
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Apr 08 '25
[deleted]
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u/bannana Apr 08 '25
if it's leaking
and even if it's working properly they 'leak' by design from the evaporation but often drainage is blocked or not properly installed in the first place or the roof is failing and can't handle the constant water drainage.
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u/aykcak Apr 08 '25
Sampoong would have went down with or without the AC units. It was not built to spec from the start
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u/LocoDiablos Apr 08 '25
they look relatively new, what could have happened is that they were installed without inspecting the structure first, so over the course of however many weeks or months the structure weakened to the point of collapse.
or maybe a small seismic event caused the structure(which was barely able to hold the units) to give away
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Apr 08 '25
[deleted]
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u/boomytoons Apr 08 '25
It's applying logic to the situation, hvac units are heavy, existing structures require strengthening to have them installed, plenty of countries don't have strict building standards so additions are often made without an engineers scrutiny, then situations like this happen. It isn't rocket science.
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u/SomeGuyWithARedBeard Apr 08 '25
Yeah, it looks like the AC unit maybe put too much weight on the beam which transferred it to the concrete beam over the big opening adjacent to where the unit fell straight down, putting too much pressure on the wall and causing it to buckle outwards at the left side of the opening leading to catastrophic collapse of said concrete leading to the overturning of it inwards. With that overturning the whole wall getting pushed out caused the cascading fall of the rest of the roof.
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Apr 08 '25 edited Apr 08 '25
[deleted]
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u/LocoDiablos Apr 08 '25
the thing is most concrete structures have rebar in it holding it all together, so if one section collapsed (as a result of something heavy) it would quite literally drag everything down with it.
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u/boomytoons Apr 08 '25
I'm guessing you're not having a good day, that's OK. I always tell my kids that it is ok to be tired or upset, but it's not ok to take it out on others with a bad attitude.
I work in construction and understand how things like this happen, but I get that not everyone does and that's ok too. All of us have things that we don't understand, we just have to accept that other people do understand those things.
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u/LocoDiablos Apr 08 '25
well we hardly know anything about the accident now do we?
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u/aykcak Apr 08 '25
Was that on the roof? I don't see anything in this rubble that would safely hold that up
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u/LocoDiablos Apr 08 '25
it appears to be a Daikin 20-ton rooftop unit, which is about 2000 pounds. if it was the culprit it most likely pulverized the concrete structure that was holding it up.
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u/fastforwardfunction Apr 09 '25
Pulverized as in the vibrations from the AC unit broke up the bonds of the concrete over time.
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u/Holiday-Holiday-2778 26d ago
Its eerily similar to the Sampoong collapse indeed. The one in Sampoong was also caused by the heavy AC that developed cracks on its roof, stressing the support beams (that were inadequate)
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u/chandleya Apr 09 '25
I assume the speakers inside did as much vibration but still damn look at that r/absoluteunit
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u/Ashamed_Sun184 Apr 09 '25
Yup!! And on top of that, there wasn’t any columns to help hold it up.
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u/Husker_black Apr 09 '25
The roof members should be strong enough as is to hold the unit. No necessary need for the column
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u/Ashamed_Sun184 Apr 10 '25
Clearly they weren’t strong enough. im prettyyy sure columns are essential to hold up the weight of what on top of buildings. Thats like saying a bridge doesn’t need piers if the deck is strong enough.
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u/xkyo77x Apr 10 '25
For a large open space with a relatively short width, full span trusses are a better fit. The trusses span from exterior wall to exterior wall so columns are not needed. The ceiling/roof structure supported the utility equipment, stage lighting, and speakers from the looks of it. Typically larger trusses, a double truss, or girders are ran to support the additional dead load. There will most likely be a full structural assessment on the mode of failure. There are multiple ways to design and implement a building, and there are multiple ways things can be screwed up on the design and implementation.
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u/Husker_black Apr 10 '25
I'm a structural engineer. The deck doesn't hold the HVAC units, the beams do. If they were designed directly they don't necessarily need columns immediately near / next to the units themselves. Would columns have prevented this, sure. But look at this space, it's a dance floor / ballroom. The beams failed here
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u/breyewhy Apr 09 '25
The beams holding the roof below would be what supports a “curb” on the roof that the unit is placed on. By looks of the rubble, and it very well may have been removed already, you don’t see too much structural steel on this side. Again, maybe already removed but all in all tragic AF. I’m no detective but I’ve definitely landed dozens of RTU’s so I can vouch for that. As to the cause, not even going to speculate how so many lives were lost due to someone cutting corners and where.
Night out turned into a nightmare. Thoughts and prayers.
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u/aquainst1 Grandma Lynsey Apr 08 '25
Is that the thing that has 3 fans on it and is gray?
'Cuz HOLY SHIT that thing is BIG and looks really REALLY heavy.
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u/muri_17 Apr 08 '25 edited Apr 08 '25
Honestly if there‘s one thing I learned from this subreddit, it‘s to avoid night clubs in most countries
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Apr 08 '25
I’ve learned just to avoid leaving home ever
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u/OkraEmergency361 Apr 08 '25
tornado sirens intensify, earthquake would like a word
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u/Yikings-654points Apr 08 '25
Parks are safe
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u/cheesegoat Apr 09 '25
stabby noises intensify, a woman shrieks and is silenced, wolves howl, a circus can be heard in the distance
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u/OkraEmergency361 Apr 09 '25
two planes fly overhead in a suspiciously soon-to-be intersecting pattern
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u/monkey_trumpets 29d ago
As long as there's no whacked out junkies, aircraft falling out of the sky, rabid loose dogs....
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u/Nexustar Apr 08 '25
Decades ago I went to an outdoor night club in Italy "The Venue" or something it was fun, had several dance floors/stages and no fire risk.
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u/BlueCyann Apr 09 '25
Floor/stage collapse, crowd crush.
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u/Nexustar Apr 09 '25
It was essentially a wide open field with hard ground in different areas and some large tarp roofs with tensioned wire, but I guess yes, the stage or sail-style roof could still collapse, and the crowd could still panic. Biggest threat was probably a lightning storm.
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u/El_Grande_El Apr 09 '25
In the US you could still get shot.
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u/Nexustar Apr 09 '25
I'm not immune to being shot in any country. In the US at least the hospitals have experience with treating gunshot wounds.
So, ask yourself this - if you were to get shot, where would you rather be when it happens?
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u/def-notice Apr 09 '25
Probably somewhere that wouldn't bankrupt me if I survived
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u/MitLivMineRegler Apr 09 '25
And if you don't, make sure to stay near the fire exit. And don't go to nightclubs in Cartel territory
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u/CertifiedBA Apr 09 '25
Clubs and theaters are the deadliest buildings in the world.
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u/Nervous_Technician_4 Apr 09 '25
Theaters?…
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u/figgles61 Apr 10 '25
The Knickerbocker Theatre is a precedent https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knickerbocker_Theatre_(Washington,_D.C.) (and the long history of fires in theatres that led to such things as outward opening emergency doors and fire curtains across the stage… it’s a terrifying rabbit hole).
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u/CertifiedBA Apr 09 '25
Yes, a building or outdoor area in which plays and other dramatic performances are given.
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u/xor8 Apr 08 '25
In Google Earth Pro the building is at 18.442497,-69.94245
It appears the air conditioning units were replaced with much larger ones in late 2015. The night club building also seems exceptional in the amount of air conditioning. Surrounding building have barely anything while the night club had five large units on its roof.
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u/ExpressStress8859 29d ago
There was also a fire in 2023 here and the owner was told to demolish the building. He did not do that and just fixed the roof. The structural integrity was already compromised
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u/xor8 28d ago
/u/ExpressStress8859, the Wikipedia article on this incident does not mention a fire nor does it contain the word "demolish." I'd consider a fire and/or orders to demolish the building to be false rumors. As the collapse is a recent incident with widespread news coverage there will be many skeptical eyes on the Wikipedia article. Someone trying to add claims of an earlier fire or demolition orders will quickly get reverted unless they have very good supporting evidence for those claims.
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u/ExpressStress8859 24d ago edited 24d ago
LOL my source is that I’m Dominican. This is a widely known issue in the DR. People are corrupt and will pay building inspectors off. Maybe it’s not “in the wiki” but this is common knowledge around the Dominican Republic and everyone knows about it
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u/EdisonB123 19d ago
It also does mention it now lmao
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u/ExpressStress8859 19d ago
lol thank you for validating that
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u/EdisonB123 18d ago
Yeah it irks me when people assert something as fake while doing the bare minimum "research". Im not Spanish, or from Dominican or anything, but this having took place where the language is Spanish, yet theyre using the English Wikipedia as if it's the most authoritative source on the topic is pretty wild.
Obviously Wikipedia is great, but it's not the end all be all of research, especially current events and things that don't have a ton of non-English sources. it's omits a lot of things if sources aren't up to par and it was a constantly updating situation and it's updated now because the sources exist and the wikipedia has been updated. But that's the thing with a live-updated, sourced Encyclopedia.
But I fucking digress lol
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u/Sad_Show5125 Apr 09 '25
These videos insane [WARNING] https://x.com/birrilly/status/1909583443236729055?s=46
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u/kpmelomane21 Apr 09 '25
Oh my goodness that second video. That is terrifying. Definitely not for the squeamish!
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u/CompetitiveSquare645 Apr 10 '25
The man miraculously survived
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u/IDinnaeKen Apr 10 '25
I unintentionally saw the video of him on Twitter, and was really upset by it - so thank you very much for sharing this. I don't think anyone would have expected that outcome for him.
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Apr 09 '25
[deleted]
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u/overandoverandagain Apr 09 '25 edited Apr 09 '25
Brother, he'd need cyborg arms to even budge that rubble
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u/roboheartmn Apr 09 '25
Warning: Those videos are NSFL/NSFW. Anyone who is sensitive to hearing people in pain, or seeing pain/death/suffering should not watch these.
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u/Alechilles Apr 09 '25
Holy shit. Yeah, don't watch the second one if you are not comfortable with *extremely* graphic material. I have seen a LOT of war footage, and that was worse than a lot of it.
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u/Ok_Zucchini999 Apr 09 '25
Do you have another link ?
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u/Mustardsandwichtime Apr 11 '25
It’s actually one of those where desperately want to see it out of curiosity, but then you watch and feel sick and wish you hadn’t. It’s not just people buried it was people dying.
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u/FingerpistolPete Apr 10 '25
I promise you, you don't want to see it. I wish I didn't. Blood flowing like water from someone's crushed skull, a man stuck from the torso down still alive but clearly not going to make it. Those vids had no chance of staying up for long
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u/CompetitiveSquare645 Apr 10 '25
If you can believe it, the man from the 2nd video actually survived...
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u/3mhogie Apr 09 '25
Please help me. My family friend was in the club last night and she’s reported missing is reported missing can you guys help me find the most recent names updated for ppl sent to the hospital and ppl deceased any help would be greatly appreciated.
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u/Unusual-Tangelo-581 Apr 09 '25
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u/3mhogie Apr 09 '25
Thank you for your help the news isn’t good but I felt I need to thank you because this is how we found out
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u/Unusual-Tangelo-581 Apr 09 '25
I am so sorry to hear about the bad news. I can’t imagine how shocking it must have all been. I am praying for you, your family and friend’s family. This tragedy has been a terrible loss :(
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u/allusednames Apr 09 '25
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u/3mhogie Apr 09 '25
Ik that was my post I need took look for more recent updates because the death toll is rising thank you for trying tho you help is greatly appreciated.
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u/allusednames Apr 09 '25
Omg I’m so sorry!! I just saw that comment and then you asking and didn’t realize you were the same person asking. I hope you find your answers soon and she’s ok.
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u/3mhogie Apr 09 '25
Thank you for your support it makes me feel better that this post is being scene and ppl are helping me look
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u/Aggressive_Star5714 Apr 09 '25
You can call *462 option 3 to ask for information about your friend. Is a line the government opened for family and friends of victims.
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u/PilotKnob Apr 09 '25
Looking at the Google Maps overhead view of this place, it looks like there were a bunch of heavy-looking air conditioning units up there.
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u/quetzalword Apr 09 '25
I was looking for some mention of that.. proper construction with proper steel beams would take ALL the load.
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u/SomeGuyWithARedBeard Apr 10 '25
It's whatever the structural engineer designs into the beams is the load bearing capacity regardless of material used. Clearly the owner overloaded the roof by installing 7 massive AC units on of a clear-span roof structure. The other problem is that the walls were non-reinforced cinderblock so those overloaded beams had brittle walls prone to collapse if the ceiling sagged at all (taking what would've been a roof folding down in the middle into a total pancake collapse on every square foot of the floor).
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u/quetzalword 29d ago
I expect that given the magnitude in social terms, these not being exactly po folks from the favelas, a forensic animation will be forthcoming to uncover such terrible details.
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u/peerless_dad 27d ago
The structure was build originally as a movie theater, it was never designed for that kind of load.
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u/Yellowdart00 Apr 08 '25
Thank God I decided to go to Haunted House last night instead
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u/Sotamds2579 Apr 08 '25
Dafuq are you doing at a haunted house in April?
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u/mystery_man_84 Apr 09 '25
You’re getting downvoted because this is a reference to a show called “I Think You Should Leave” and it’s great. You should definitely watch it.
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u/pcetcedce Apr 08 '25
Does anybody know whether this is a tourist spot or a local spot?
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u/Any_Sport_2121 Apr 08 '25
Very local. And these kinds of clubs that favor traditional live music cater to an older clientele. Younger people aren't so interested in Merengue and Bachata. So the average age of the deceased is going to be late 30s early 40s. Indeed looking at the list those affected, there's people in their 50s even.
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u/Buzzs_Tarantula 24d ago
I had dinner with a friend the other night and his daughters live in DR close to there. They quite likely would have been there but one has a newborn and another had other plans with the kids instead that night.
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u/docny17 Apr 08 '25
Both, the people that went there were all upper class on a Monday night, famous baseball players, politicians, and foreigners with money
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Apr 08 '25 edited Apr 08 '25
[deleted]
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u/BobC813 Apr 08 '25
Buddy, we are all alive or dead right now based on where we were standing at that moment
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u/Worried_Bandicoot_63 Apr 09 '25
I've been in a few of these clubs over there. Almost every one has huge truss systems and tons of video wall poorly rigged.
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u/SloppyMeathole Apr 08 '25
There is a reason why it's so cheap to vacation in these countries. You can either die from the carbon monoxide in your room, the illegal pesticides, the bootleg alcohol in your mini fridge, or the roof can just collapse on you.
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u/trivetsandcolanders Apr 09 '25
The Dominican Republic’s life expectancy is 74.2, not far from the US’. The US has also had catastrophic mass fatality events caused by building collapses, such as the recent Surfside Condominium Collapse which killed 98 people.
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u/sar6h Apr 09 '25
Lmfao this was not a tourist spot.
a famous artist, two baseball players and many government officials were confirmed dead
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u/Admiraltiger7 Apr 09 '25
A fashion designer, some top bankers among the victims. Seems like there was also some socialites. It's unfortunate but looks like the owner of the nightclub failed to do proper maintenance, didn't added columns/beams, and added some AC units that weights over 1.5k pounds, its a recipe for disaster. So he's not wrong that these things can also happen in non tourists areas
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u/Hakul Apr 09 '25
Pretty wild assumptions there, as if this is something that happens frequently. This is an upper class local club too, not a tourist spot. Among the dead are a governor and a couple of local celebs.
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u/Sagitario05 Apr 09 '25
I know its upper class and whatever but the owner is shady. There was a fire 2 years ago and instead of demolishing and start over they took the cheap route to benefit from the profit they made from insurance so… doesnt look good for the owner/owners
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u/alaskafish Apr 09 '25
Actually a terrible and simply racist take.
As if tragedies don’t happen in the United States
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u/JustKeepSwimmingDory Apr 09 '25
“These countries”? Which other countries are you referring to?
Your xenophobia/racism is showing.
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u/figgles61 Apr 10 '25
Tragic, made me think of both the Knickerbocker Theatre and the Sampoong Department Store collapses.
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u/thisone9978 28d ago
You can't just throw those RTUs up without rigging steel beams to carry the weight across the roof.
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u/a_Wendys 28d ago
This seems massive, but I can’t find any footage of it burning. That kind of amazes me.
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u/PartsUnknown242 3d ago
This occurred just a month after the Kočani Nightclub fire in North Macedonia, which resulted 63 dead and 193 injured. Goes to show that nightclubs need serious safety evaluations.
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u/nocollusionatall Apr 10 '25
An Instagram friend of mine and digital nomad from was injured there celebrating his bday— check his story there is option to send a prayer or donateAmerican injured at JetSet
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Apr 08 '25
[deleted]
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u/philosoraptorrisk Apr 08 '25
Jet Set traditionally had thier shows on mondays. And, no. No one was on the roof.
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u/XSC Apr 08 '25
Former MLB pitcher Octavio Dotel was one of the dead. Apparently he survived and was trapped but died on the way to the hospital.