In brief
A blaze in a Lima home early Wednesday took ten lives, including five children, after a suspected arson linked to extortion threats. The family, manufacturers of mattresses and owners of electric motorcycles, were reportedly targeted. Police confirm the victims were burned beyond recognition, and eight survivors escaped. Investigations are underway to confirm arson and identify the perpetrators.
A fire has killed 10 members of the same family, including five children, at a home in Peru's capital Lima, police say.
The blaze ripped through the property in the southern La Victoria district early on Wednesday, Gen Oscar Arriola from the Peruvian National Police told local media.
Five children aged between three and 15, as well as four adults aged between 29 and 72 and a fifth whose age was not given, were killed. Two people were also reportedly injured.
Police are investigating claims that the fire was started by arsonists. Local media reports say the family, who manufactured mattresses and owned electric motorcycles, had received threats and demands for extortion payments.
According to a report by the government news agency Andina, neighbors said unknown individuals had set fire to motorcycles parked outside, with the flames spreading rapidly through flammable mattress‑making materials.
Seventeen members of the family were in the building when the fire started at 03:00 local time (08:00 GMT) but seven managed to escape, Infobae reports.
Police listed the ages of the victims: children aged three, six, six, eight and 15; adults aged 29, 35, 42 and 72.
Arriola said their bodies were burned beyond recognition.
"Today, all of Peru falls silent in the face of a tragedy that plunges our nation into mourning," a statement from the National Police of Peru said.
