WORLD Series champion Octavio Dotel has died after he was pulled from the rubble of the Dominican Republic nightclub collapse.

At least 44 people are dead and 160 others injured after the roof of club Jet Set collapsed in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday morning.

Rescue workers search for survivors at the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed on Tuesday morningCredit: AP

Octavio Dotel, seen celebrating while the St. Louis Cardinals played the MLB World Series in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 28, 2011, is among the deadCredit: Getty

First responders work to rescue survivors from the rubble of the venueCredit: AP:Associated Press

Over 300 people, including politicians, athletes, and fans, were inside the venue in Santo Domingo watching merengue artist Rubby Pérez perform when the ceiling caved in at around 1 am local time.

Pérez had been playing for about an hour when the roof came crashing down.

Dotel, 51, was pulled from the rubble alive but died on the way to the hospital, according to MLB insider Héctor Gómez.

He was reportedly stuck under the collapsed ceiling for hours.

Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi and sister of former MLB player Nelson Cruz, was among the 44 killed, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said.

She called the president at 12:49 am to tell him she was trapped after the roof collapsed and then later died at the hospital.

Singer Pérez was injured in the chaos and his saxophonist was killed, according to Pérez’s manager Enrique Paulino, whose shirt was splattered with blood when he spoke to reporters at the scene.

“It happened so quickly,” said Paulino, adding that he initially thought he was experiencing an earthquake.

“I managed to throw myself into a corner.”

Former MLB player Esteban Germán narrowly avoided the tragedy as he left the performance minutes before.

Nelsy Cruz, the sister of Seattle Mariners’ legend Nelson Cruz, died in the tragedy, according to reportsCredit: X/SimoEvelyn

Esteban Germán posted a video of Rubby Pérez performing at the club before the tragedyCredit: Instagram / estebang26

Germán posted a video of Pérez on stage to his Instagram Story before sharing a message about the tragedy just an hour later.

“I’m fine thanks to God,” the former Oakland A’s second baseman wrote, adding that he was trying to help at the scene.

Germán said moments before the ceiling collapsed, former MLB player Tony Blanco pushed him out of the way of danger.

Blanco, 43, did not survive the collapse.

It was previously mistakenly reported that Henry Blanco, another MLB player, was at the nightclub during the tragedy, but he was confirmed to be in the US at the time.