Lima, Peru – Peru’s health ministry reported that at least one person died and 47 others were injured Friday evening in an “incident” of unspecified nature inside the Alejandro Villanueva stadium in the capital, Lima, during a gathering before a football derby match.
Health Minister Juan Carlos Velasco told the media: “An unfortunate incident occurred at the stadium, resulting in 47 injuries… and unfortunately, one death,” without providing further details on the cause of the incident.
Initial reports had indicated that the incident was caused by the collapse of part of one of the stadium’s walls, but Alianza Lima later clarified in a post on the “X” platform that what happened was not due to “the collapse of walls or structural failures in the sports facility.”
Velasco added that 39 of the injured were taken to hospitals across the Lima area, including three in critical condition.
For his part, fire chief Marcos Pajuello told reporters that “the structure of the south stands appeared to be in good condition, with no collapsed walls or parts that had fallen into the sinkhole.” The Peruvian Football League stated in a press release that the Alianza Peruvian match against Universitario was still scheduled for Saturday evening as planned.
