Fire Sweeps Residential Area in Lima, Peru, Killing 10 Including Children

A fire broke out at a house in the Peruvian capital of Lima, leaving 10 people dead, including five minors.

According to Peru's state-run Andina news agency and the daily El Comercio on the 22nd (local time), the fire occurred at around 3 a.m. at a house located on Pisagua Street in the La Victoria district of Lima.

Upon receiving reports of the fire, firefighting authorities deployed nine fire engines to extinguish the flames. However, they faced difficulties in putting out the fire because flammable materials, such as mattresses, were piled up inside and outside the house, causing the flames to spread rapidly, and the alleys were narrow.

The fire killed a total of 10 people, including five minors aged 3 to 15.

According to police, a total of 17 people lived in the house where the fire broke out, and 7 of them managed to escape.

One of the survivors who escaped testified in an interview with a local broadcaster, "Because it was a wooden building, the fire spread in an instant, and gas cylinders and other items exploded inside."

Oscar Arriola, head of the Peruvian National Police, explained, "Nine of the 10 victims are members of the same family."

Police are focusing their investigation on the possibility of arson rather than simple negligence.

According to neighbors and bereaved family members, the victims' family, who ran a mattress manufacturing and electric motorcycle business, had been suffering from threats for a month as they were demanded to pay so-called "protection money" by a local criminal gang.

Police and prosecutors have secured closed-circuit (CC) TV footage installed in the residential area along with witness statements to check for any criminal acts, while investigating the exact circumstances of the incident.

(Photo: Captured from El Comercio, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.