By JACK BEZANTS

Former Major League Baseball star Tony Blanco was killed when he tried to save his friend and former baseball player Esteban German being hit by falling debris, it has been revealed.

German was returning to his table from the bathroom when Blanco pushed him out the way of a part of the falling ceiling, according to the distinguished Dominican Republic baseball reporter Hector Gomez.

Blanco, 43, was killed in the tragic accident but German survived. 

Blanco is the second ex-MLB player confirmed dead in the disaster at the Jet Set club in Santo Domingo at 12.44am local time on Tuesday that has claimed the lives of at least 58 people.

Blanco played for the Washington Nationals in 2005 before spending eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.

Tony Blanco was killed trying to save his friend from falling debris in the nightclub collapse

Tony Blanco was killed trying to save his friend from falling debris in the nightclub collapse

Octavio Dotel was the other MLB player killed in the incident. Earlier on Tuesday, he was reported as having been rescued from the rubble after screaming for help. 

However, Dotel’s brother Angel told El Nuevo Diario newspaper that he died before being pulled from underneath the debris.

Dotel, who won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011, had been heard screaming for help by first responders, according to Dominican television station Supercanal. 

Dotel pitched for 13 teams across a career that spanned 15 seasons in the majors. He was 59-50 with a 3.79 ERA and 109 saves in 758 games, including 34 starts.

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Heroic final act of MLB star Tony Blanco revealed before he was killed in nightclub collapse

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