The incident occurred on the second floor of a place called Thomas Restobar, located in the Los Olivos district of Lima, north of Lima.
By:
EFE
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At least thirteen people died and six others were injured, including three policemen, when trying to escape from a clandestine party in Lima after the arrival of the Peruvian National Police (PNP), which arrested twenty-three people, reported in the early morning. of this Sunday, August 23, the Ministry of the Interior.
The deaths occurred on Saturday night when most of the 120 or so party goers ran over each other and were trapped and crushed between the entrance door to the venue and a staircase.
The Ministry of the Interior clarified in a statement that the police did not use weapons or tear gas at any time to vacate the premises where the party was being held, as residents of the area told local media.
Although the police intervention in this social gathering took place one hour before the night curfew began, which runs from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., family and social gatherings are prohibited as part of the measures dictated by the Government to avoid more contagion of covid-19.
A narrow outlet
The party took place on the second floor of a “disco” place called Thomas Restobar, located in the populous Lima district of Los Olivos, in the northern cone of Lima, to which the Police went to calls from neighbors.
Although the policemen expected to meet with a meeting of about 20 or 30 people, they found about 120 in a small space, according to the general commander of the Police, Orlando Velasco, told the RPP Noticias station.
To avoid being arrested, the assistants tried to escape through the only staircase that led to the exit located on the lower floor and caused an avalanche where people were trapped on top of each other.
“At the end of the stairs there was a metal door that opened inwards. In these circumstances, people get nervous and some started to leave but the door was closed on them. All of them were trapped out of desperation to get out, also our captain with two more policemen ”, Velasco said.
Unidentified deceased
Of the thirteen deceased, only one died at the scene and the other 12 perished in the transfer to different clinics in the Peruvian capital, according to the Police General. All the fatalities are still in the process of identification.
Velasco also said that the police had to use a vehicle with ropes to tear off the metal door and thus be able to free the deceased and the injured.
Since the social immobility measures began, police interventions at parties and social gatherings have been frequent, but never before had an event been registered with an attendance that exceeded fifty people.
Peru is the sixth country in the world and the second in Latin America with the most confirmed cases of coronavirus, accumulating more than 585,000 infections, and is close to becoming the country with the highest mortality rate, already exceeding 27,400 deaths from covid-19.
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