At least 10 people have died in a fire that swept through a family home in a low-income neighborhood in the Peruvian capital, Lima, police said Wednesday.
According to family members, five of the dead were adults and the remaining five were children.
Two other people were injured in the incident, the INDECI civil defense institute wrote in a social media post.
A fire broke out in the early morning in a house located in the La Victoria district of Lima.
Peru’s newly elected President Keiko Fujimori visited the ruins on Wednesday and described the deaths as a “horrible massacre.”
He told the press, “What people are asking for is order and safety, and that’s the first thing we’re going to do next week.”
investigation underway
Peruvian news outlet El Comercio reported that nine firefighting units responded to the scene to extinguish the flames, which, according to initial reports, spread rapidly due to the presence of flammable materials and parked electric vehicles.
“Officials have launched an investigation to determine the location, circumstances and cause of the fire,” police chief Oscar Arriola told media.
According to local media reports, the fire was set by extortionists who were threatening local businesses.
Colonel John Lujan, who is leading the investigation, said “a possible deliberate act or a case of extortion” is one of the possible causes being explored.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko
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