Rubby Pérez, Singer Performing at Dominican Republic Nightclub During Roof Collapse, Dies at 69

Rubby Pérez, the merengue singer who was performing at the Jet Set night club in Santo Domingo when its roof collapsed, is dead. He was 69.

Enrique Paulino, Pérez’s manager, confirmed the news to PEOPLE after Rolling Stone Australia and Listín Diario reported on his death. Pérez’s Instagram profile picture was also changed to black. No other details were released.

The Dominican Republic National Police confirmed 79 people were killed as a result of the roof collapse as of Thursday night. So far, 155 transfers have been made to hospital centers in the National District.

Also among the confirmed deceased are Tony Blanco, a former Major League Baseball player and father of current Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Tony Blanco Jr., as well as former MLB pitcher Octavio Dotel.

The news comes after the national police said earlier on Thursday that “authorities reiterate that search, rescue, and medical care work continues uninterruptedly, under strict inter-agency coordination to provide support to victims and their families.”

Rolling Stone reported that earlier in the day, Pérez’s family had stated that the merengue singer was transported to a local hospital after paramedics “found him singing” under rubble.

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“We hope to God that he recovers soon … He’s injured, but he’s hospitalized; they found him singing. He started singing so they could hear him. He’s always told me: ‘If something ever happens to me, cover me so no one takes pictures,’ ” his daughter Ruby Pérez told Spanish press, per the outlet.