The bodies of some of the victims that suffocated in a crush during a raid on a nightclub in Lima, Peru, are seen early on Monday on the back of a pick-up truck. Photo: AFP
At least 13 young people suffocated in a crush during a raid on a nightclub in Peru's capital, where a party was being held in violation of a coronavirus ban on large gatherings, police and press reports said.
"After a police operation in a discotheque in the Los Olivos neighborhood, 13 people have died," Peruvian police chief General Orlando Velasco told RPP radio.
Twenty-three people were arrested for taking part in what health officials said could be a mass-spreader event; 15 of them later tested positive for the coronavirus, police said.
Latin America has been badly hit by the pandemic, and Peruvian officials in August reimposed stricter curbs on movement and large gatherings.
Peru is the third-hardest-hit country in the region - after Brazil and Mexico - registering 27,453 deaths from the virus since March.
The illegal birthday party on Saturday was organized on social media and drew a crowd of around 120, most of them in their 20s or 30s, to a licensed nightclub called the Thomas Restobar, the interior ministry said in a statement.
AFP