Peru: deadly stampede during an underground party in the midst of a pandemic

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2 min

Thirteen people aged 20 to 30 died of suffocation on Saturday evening in Peru during the intervention of the police in a nightclub in the capital who organized a clandestine party violating the mandatory curfew decreed by the authorities in the face of the worsening of the Covid-19 epidemic in the country.

Publicity

With our correspondent in Quito, Éric Samson

Painted in a rather discreet blue, the Thomas Restobar is a small two-story house overlooking El Zinc Avenue in the Los Olivos district. The nightclub was located on the 2nd floor, with a few skylights, a staircase and a single access door.

More than 120 young people were crammed into this room to participate in a party promoted on social networks. An illegal evening since it violated the mandatory curfew decreed by the government from Saturday 10 p.m. to Monday morning.

Alerted by neighbors exasperated by the noise, four police officers showed up to put an end to the clandestine evening. The young people rushed up the stairs leading to the exit in total panic. Thirteen died of suffocation - 11 boys and two girls - three were injured as well as three of the police officers.

What exactly happened to provoke this crowd movement? Some assistants accuse the police of having used tear gas, which Police General Orlando Velasco and the Interior Ministry deny.

More than 20 people were arrested and the Minister for Women and Vulnerable Populations asked for the maximum sentence against the owners of the nightclub.

► Read also: Coronavirus: Peru passes the 20,000 dead mark

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• Peru
• Coronavirus

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