At least 10 people have died after a fire broke out at a family home in a low-income neighborhood in Peru’s capital, Lima, police said on Wednesday.
According to relatives, five of the deceased were adults, and the other five were children.
Another two people were injured in the incident, the INDECI civil defense institute wrote in a social media post.
The fire broke out early in the morning at a house located in Lima’s La Victoria district.
Peru’s president-elect Keiko Fujimori visited the ruins Wednesday, calling the deaths “a terrible massacre.”
“What people are asking for is order and security, and that is the first thing we are going to do next week,” she told the press.
Investigation is underway
Peruvian news outlet El Comercio reported that nine fire units responded to the scene to extinguish the flames, which, according to preliminary reports, spread rapidly due to the presence of flammable materials and parked electric vehicles.
Authorities have launched an investigation “to determine the point of origin, the circumstances, and the causes of this fire,” police chief Oscar Arriola told the media.
According to local media reports, extortionists who were threatening local businesses started the fire.
Colonel John Lujan, who is heading up the investigation, said “a possible deliberate act or a case of extortion” is among the possible causes that are being explored.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko
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