10 university students killed in Peru restaurant fire

LIMA, Peru: LIMA: Ten university students were killed and three others injured after a fire swept through a restaurant in southeastern Peru during a birthday celebration, police said on Friday.

The blaze erupted on Thursday afternoon in Huancane, a city in the Andean region of Puno near the Bolivian border. The victims, aged between 17 and 23, were enrolled at a local teacher-training college.

A police official told AFP that forensic teams from the police and prosecutor’s office recovered 10 bodies from the site.

According to authorities, the students were trapped on the second floor of the Calma Tripa restaurant — a wood-and-brick structure — when the fire rapidly engulfed the area.

Local media reported that neighbours tried to tackle the flames using fire extinguishers and buckets of water. Huancane Mayor Valerio Tapia told state news agency Andina that the city of around 20,000 residents has no fire department.

Firefighters from the nearby city of Juliaca reached the scene nearly an hour later and brought the blaze under control.

A local source told AFP that an exploding gas cylinder may have triggered the fire.

Restaurant fires are frequent in remote parts of Peru, where flammable materials are often stored without regard for safety regulations.