Death toll in Dominican Republic nightclub disaster rises to 218

The death toll after a roof collapsed at a crowded nightclub in the Dominican Republic has climbed to 218, the head of rescue operations said on Thursday, in the Caribbean nation’s worst disaster in decades.

Rescuers had worked frantically since the collapse in the early hours of Tuesday to dig out survivors from the rubble of the popular Jet Set club in Santo Domingo.

Among the dead were famed merengue singer Rubby Perez, who was performing on stage as the roof caved in, as well...