Twelve women and one man died in one police intervention at a disco that operated clandestinely in The Olives. Despite the prohibition of social gatherings and the proximity of the curfew, in the local ‘Thomas Restobar‘A party had been going on since Saturday afternoon, which according to the police brought together up to 120 people.
To prevent the spread of the new coronavirus that devastates the country with more than 27 thousand deaths, the Government has imposed a state of emergency, a night curfew and total immobilization on Sundays. To people who fail to comply with the prohibition of social gatherings, They are intervened and fined ranging from 86 to 430 soles.
1) Intervention gets out of control
When the Police were alerted by the residents of the party, they organized an intervention with 20 troops under the command of Captain José Amézquita. The disco worked on the second floor of a building, located on El Zinc avenue. The only way to enter and exit the second floor is a narrow staircase that closed inwards. On the facade of the premises you can see a banner announcing “shows every weekend.”
According to the authorities’ version, Captain Amézquita and two policemen went up to the disco to proceed with the intervention: they demanded to turn on the lights and turn off the music. It is in this moment where the intervention got out of control. According to the authorities, dozens of people became nervous and began to run over each other trying to flee by the only way out.
“Many attendees managed to leave the premises. In that tumult, the door that unfortunately opened inwards, closes, making it impossible for people to leave and there they begin to crowd. Some are below others ”, detailed the general commander of the Police, Orlando Velasco.
According to the PolicemanWhile the injured were being helped, other assistants managed to escape the intervention. Of the 120 people the authorities estimate were at the party, 23 were arrested.
Some participants in the event and neighbors indicated that the police used tear gas, what has been denied by authority. A prosecutor on duty declared Sunday afternoon that preliminarily no traces of the use of tear gas have been found in the intervention.
2) The virus between the living and the dead
Those intervened and deceased were subjected to serological tests to detect the new coronavirus. In a statement, the Prosecutor’s Office reported that 11 of the 13 bodies were infected with the virus.
“The autopsies will be carried out tomorrow, Monday, August 24, in compliance with the biosecurity procedures required in these circumstances, especially since 11 corpses infected with the virus have been identified,” they said in the statement.
While, of the 23 detainees, 15 tested positive. Claudio Ramírez, head of the Directorate of Integrated Health Networks of North Lima, specified that of the 15 positives, two yielded IGG antibodies, that is, they already had the disease, while 13 are still “in the contagious phase”.
“They are 15 positives. Approximately thirteen are in the contagious phase, that is the most delicate. There is a minor under 15 who has tested positive. We have the offer of the doctor Pilar Mazetti of the Pan American Village to have the positives there, but we are awaiting the decision of the Public Ministry, ”Ramírez told RPP.
3) In search of those responsible
Javier Sulca, councilor of the municipality of The Olives, indicated that the establishment obtained the operating permit in 2016 as a restaurant. Later, in 2018, it was granted permission to operate as a bar.
Leandro Montoya and Nélida Díaz, a couple listed as owner of the company Monditex SRLTDA, who obtained permission to operate in said building, was detained to clarify what happened.
President Martín Vizcarra asked for a harsh sanction against businessmen and organizers of this type of events that are prohibited by the state of emergency.
“We ask the Public Ministry for a rigorous investigation, an exemplary sanction for the owners and organizers of this type of event. Those thirteen lives could have been saved if we did not have this type of negligent behavior, “said the president.
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