A stampede in a nightclub in Lima in Peru caused the death of more than a dozen people on Saturday evening who tried to flee the police, who came to enforce the curfew imposed due to the Covid-19 epidemic, have the authorities announced on Sunday.
Some 120 people attended the anniversary party relayed on social networks despite the ban on gatherings during the weekend, when the police broke into the establishment in Los Olivos, a popular district from the Peruvian capital.
If I was able to make it, God knows why, my friend who was with me died in my arms.
A young woman present at the party.
“Faced with the intervention of the police, who did not use any type of weapon or tear gas canister, the participants in the party tried to escape by the only front door and, in the stampede , found themselves wedged between the door and the stairs, ”the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
At least 13 people died during the police operation, the chief of police, General Orlando Velasco, told RPP radio.
Three others were injured as well as three police officers trying to rescue people trapped in the nightclub.
About twenty offenders were arrested during this evening and were placed in detention in Lima.
The victims were between 20 and 30 years old, according to information published by local media.
Tear gas?
Some witnesses refuted the authorities’ version, saying that the police had used tear gas to evacuate the establishment.
“It appears that the police entered and threw tear gas canisters. And they locked them up and apparently they were asphyxiated, ”accused a local resident on RPP radio.
“If I was able to get out, God knows why, my friend who was with me died in my arms,” a young woman present at the party told the press.
The Minister for Women, Rosario Sasieta, went to the scene of the tragedy, venting her anger against those responsible for the establishment.
Sanction requested
“It should never have happened, we are in the middle of a pandemic, there is a health emergency. I demand the strongest sanction for the owners of the discotheque ”, she launched on the radio RPP.
Peru is the third Latin American country most affected by the new coronavirus after Brazil and Mexico, with 27,453 dead and 585,000 cases of contamination for a population of 33 million inhabitants.
Faced with the spread of the disease, the government has limited gatherings of people there and imposed a nighttime curfew from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
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