A police raid on an illegal club in Peru resulted in the deaths of 13 people on Sunday, Billboard reports.
The illegal gathering was held at a club in the Los Olivos district of Lima, at a decrepit building in the industrial district. Such mass gatherings were banned back in March, though officials started lifting regulations across the country on June 30th. However, the ban on mass gatherings was once again reinstated earlier this month as coronavirus numbers once again began to spike.
The incident occurred at the Thomas Restobar Club late on Sunday when police arrived on the scene. According to the Interior Ministry, roughly 120 people were illegally gathered at the club when police arrived. They were then asked to leave out of the second floor disco’s only door, which in turn created a stampede as people nearest the door were crushed and suffocated by the mob of people.
Franco Asensios attended the party and told local radio RPP that the raid started around 9 p.m. and that the police instructed the crowd to let the women leave first.
“People got excited and started to go down, and then they said that the people in front were suffocating,” Asensios said.
Twenty-three people were later arrested, 15 of whom tested positive for COVID-19 and are now under quarantine, according to Health Ministry official Claudio RamÃrez.
“[The party] was a breeding ground for the transmission of this disease, there was a viral load because it was a closed environment,” RamÃrez said.
Some attendees have alleged that the police used tear gas on the trapped club-goers and thus created the stampede. Police chief General Orlando Velasco has denied those claims. At any rate, a neighborhood watchman has stated that this is far from the first illegal gathering in the area. Alejandro Ruiz said that when police cars would pass by, the second-floor club would turn down the music, turn off the lights, and have everyone crouch down out of sight.
While mass gatherings are once again banned, Peru did begin lifting lockdown sanctions on June 30th. Since then, the daily reported number of infections has doubled to more than 9,000 within the past several weeks. So far, Peru has reported over 27,500 deaths from coronavirus.
[H/TÂ Billboard]