“There has been an unfortunate incident at the stadium.” At least one dead and dozens injured before a derby match in Peru
At least one person died and 47 were injured Friday, for an as-yet unknown reason, in a stadium in Lima during a gathering of supporters on the eve of a soccer match, Peru's health minister said, AFP reports.
“There was a regrettable incident at the stadium, as a result of which 47 people were injured (…) and, unfortunately, there was a death,” Minister Juan Carlos Velasco told the press, without specifying what happened.
Of the injured, three of whom were minors, 39 people were hospitalized. Three of them are in “critical condition”, the minister added.
Initially there was talk of the possibility of the collapse of the Alejandro Villanueva stadium tribune, but this hypothesis was denied by the club and the fire department.
Mourning the death of a supporter, the Alianza Lima club stated on X that it did not occur due to “the collapse of the walls or structural defects of the sports arena”.
A fire official also told the media that “the structure of the south stand appeared to be in good condition” and that there were “no collapsed walls or fallen elements” on the ground.
The derby match between Alianza Lima and Club Universitario, which will be played in another stadium in Lima, has been kept for Saturday at 20:00 local time, the Peruvian soccer league said.
