Dominican Nightclub collapse: Survivor recalls 'total chaos'

Carwin Javier Molleja remembers "the screams" as the roof of the Dominican Republic nightclub collapsed, killing 218 people.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcastsRadioAudio FAQsVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewslettersNightclub survivor recalls 'total chaos' of ceiling collapse that killed 2216 hours agoShareSaveSantiago VanegasBBC News MundoShareSaveCarwin Javier MollejaCarwin and his mother, Carmen, were celebrating seeing each for the first time in three years when they were caught up in the nightclub disasterAt 01:00 on Tuesday morning Carwin Javier Molleja was dancing with his mother in Santo Domingo's Jet Set nightclub when he noticed something fall from the ceiling.

At the time, he didn't think much of it. "No-one thought that because a small stone fell the entire roof was going to collapse," he says.

The percussionist, who had moved to the Dominican Republic eight years earlier, was out with his mother, Carmen, and friends to see a concert by merengue singer Rubby Pérez.

It was the first time Carwin, 32, and his mother had seen each other in three years and it was meant to be a night of joy and celebration.

But in the early hours of Tuesday morning, disaster struck.