Read Article
5 killed in stampede at Peru nightclub
LIMA -- Five people were killed and six others injured early Thursday when revelers at a Peru nightclub panicked and caused a stampede after someone discharged a teargas canister, police said.
Three women and two men were asphyxiated in the incident. Six others were injured and taken to a hospital in Juliaca, a city in southeastern Peru.
The stampede occurred shortly after midnight when an unknown person fired teargas inside the "El Boom" club, where more than 100 people had gathered on Christmas Eve to celebrate into the pre-dawn hours of Christmas Day, the Andina news agency reported.
Police arrested seven suspects who threw rocks at the club after the teargas canister went off.
The tragedy prompted a group of villagers to try to burn down the establishment after it was evacuated, but firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze.
Copyright 2009 INQUIRER.net and content partners. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.