Fire kills 10 members of same family in Peru, police say
A fire in Lima, Peru, has killed 10 members of the same family, including five children. Police are investigating reports of arson.
Police in Peru say a fire has killed 10 members of the same family, including five children, at a home in the capital Lima. The blaze broke out in the southern La Victoria district early on Wednesday, according to Gen Oscar Arriola of the Peruvian National Police.
Among the victims were children aged between three and 15, as well as four adults aged 29 to 72, and a fifth whose age was not provided. Two people were also injured. Authorities are investigating whether the fire was started deliberately.
Local media report that the family, who manufactured mattresses and owned electric motorcycles, had received threats and extortion demands. According to the government news agency Andina, neighbors said unknown individuals set fire to motorcycles parked outside, and the flames quickly spread through flammable materials used to make mattresses.
Seventeen family members were inside when the fire started at 3:00 a.m. local time (08:00 GMT), but seven managed to escape. Police listed the exact ages: the children were 3, 6, 6, 8, and 15; the adults were 29, 35, 42, and 72. Arriola said the bodies were burned beyond recognition.
"Today, all of Peru falls silent in the face of a tragedy that plunges our nation into mourning," the National Police of Peru said in a statement.
