At least 13 people died and another six were injured while trying to escape from a clandestine party in Lima after the arrival at the place of the National Police of Peru, which detained twenty-three people, reported in the early hours of this Sunday the Ministry of the Interior.
The deaths occurred on Saturday night when much of the about 120 attendees to this party they ran over each other and were trapped and crushed between the entrance door to the premises 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.
Despite the fact that the police intervention in this social gathering took place an hour before the night curfew began, which runs from 10:00 p.m. to 04:00 a.m. local time, Family and social gatherings are prohibited as part of the measures dictated by the Government to prevent further infections of Covid-19.
A narrow outlet
The party took place on the second floor of a local called Thomas Restobar, located in the populous Lima district of Los Olivos, from the northern cone of Lima, to which the Police went to the calls of the neighbors.
Although the police expected to meet with a meeting of about 20 or 30 people, they found about 120 in a small space, according to the station. RPP News Commander General of the Police, Orlando Velasco.
To avoid being arrested, the assistants tried to escape by the only staircase that led to the exit located on the lower deck and caused an avalanche in which 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 in desperation to get out, also our captain with two more policemen, “Velasco said.
Unidentified deceased
Of the 13 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 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.
For her part, the Minister of Women, Rosario Sasieta, assured that “this is the responsibility of these businessmen who have caused a culpable homicide because what they wanted was to generate profit. “
At the moment, the owner of the premises identified as Leandro Montoya and his partner are being held.
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.
– .
