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Lima blaze kills 10
A powerful fire broke out in an apartment in Lima, Peru, killing 10 people including five minors, with the blaze starting at around 03:00 a.m. local time in the La Victoria neighborhood.
Peruvian National Police Commander General Oscar Arriola said nine of the 10 victims were members of the same family, the Vilches family, and that the bodies were burned beyond recognition.
Authorities said the fire completely destroyed two homes and left no way for residents to escape, while firefighters and emergency crews worked for several hours to bring the flames under control.
The fire was reported on the 400 block of Pisagua Street in Lima’s La Victoria district, and Peru’s Civil Defense Institute (INDECI) classified it as a code 2 incident.
Investigators and forensic experts began examining the point of origin, the circumstances, and the cause, while the area remained cordoned off for procedures to identify the victims.
Arson and extortion claims
Police and prosecutors focused their investigation on the possibility of arson rather than simple negligence, as neighbors and bereaved family members described threats and demands for so-called "protection money" by a local criminal gang.
Nasrin Begum was not part of this Lima case; instead, the Lima reporting centered on relatives and neighbors who said unknown individuals set fire to electric motorcycles parked in front of the building.
One survivor told El Comercio that extortionists waited until the family was asleep so they could come in and burn the motorcycles, and she said that because she lived in a wooden house, everything caught fire and exploded inside, including gas cylinders.
The same El Comercio account said the survivor identified unscrupulous individuals who extorted her relative for having an electric motorcycle rental business, and she said the intensity of the flames prevented other family members from escaping alive.
Caracol Radio also reported that the fire may have been caused by an extortionist attack that threatened a local electric motorcycle rental business in the area.
Damage assessment and next steps
Emergency response included nine units deployed to extinguish the flames, and the General Corps of Volunteer Firefighters of Peru brought the urban fire under control after it spread rapidly through narrow alleys and flammable materials.
“A serious tragedy has shaken Peru, where ten people, including five minor children, lost their lives as a result of a powerful fire that broke out in an apartment in the capital Lima”
The National Emergency Operations Center (COEN) confirmed the number of victims while the Municipality of Lima executed the Evaluación de Daños y Análisis de Necesidades (EDAN) and maintained monitoring of the emergency.
Investigators from the National Police and representatives of the Public Prosecutor’s Office arrived to begin investigations, and the PNP’s Fire Investigation Department conducted a thorough investigation alongside forensic experts.
Relatives said a security camera installed at a house across from the scene could provide key footage to determine how the blaze started and whether it was intentionally set, as inspection and debris removal operations proceeded with particular care.
The case also left two displaced people and two homes uninhabitable, with Indeci reporting that the fire left 10 people dead, 2 displaced, and 2 uninhabitable homes.
