A fan was killed and dozens were injured in an accident that occurred just before the start of a local derby match in the Peruvian capital, Lima. Authorities are investigating the cause.
While initial reports indicated that parts of the stadium’s perimeter wall and structure collapsed, this account was later called into question.
Peruvian Health Minister Juan Carlos Velasco Guerrero confirmed to the media from a Lima hospital that one person had died and 47 were injured, three of them critically.
Hundreds had gathered around the Alejandro Villanueva Stadium, wearing the home team Alianza Lima jerseys and waving its flags, in preparation for the match against their arch-rivals, Universitario de Deportes.
Despite the accident, the league announced that the match scheduled for Saturday night would proceed as planned.
The Interior Ministry had previously posted on its X platform that 40 firefighters responded to an emergency at the stadium “related to people trapped inside a building structure.”
However, Alianza Lima later issued a statement on the same platform saying: “According to the initial information available, the incident is not related to the collapse of walls or construction facilities within the sports complex.”
