Peru Miners Rescued Unharmed in Ica

The nine miners who had been trapped 250 meters underground for six days began to emerge from the Cabeza de Negro mine shaft just before 7am Wednesday, helped by rescue teams and welcomed by President Humala at the entry to the mine shaft.

The rescue was expected to be completed late Tuesday , but a large rock in the tunnel blocked access to the miners.  The rock, some two meters deep, had to be broken down slowly to Read more…

At Least 18 Killed In Bus Crash In Piura

A bus carrying 25 passengers in Peru’s northern Piura region plunged down a 200 meter cliff, killing at least 18 people, including a 14-month-old baby, newspaper El Comercio reported.

The remaining seven passengers were badly injured in the crash, according to the report. The passengers were traveling in a bus owned by the company Yambur.

The accident occurred in Piura’s province of Ayabaca, in the district of Read more…

Fire Rips Through Education Ministry Warehouse, Destroys School Materials

Firefighters continued Saturday morning to move debris in a warehouse owned by the Ministry of Education, putting out the final embers of a fire that ripped through the building two days earlier. The fire destroyed approximately 280 million soles ($105 million) worth of educational materials, newspaper El Comercio reported.

Education Minister Patricia Salas said that 500,000 school texts, 40,000 computers, 21,000 notebooks and 6,000 solar panels were destroyed in the fire. The warehouse was located in the industrial area of Breña, near downtown Lima.

Five firefighters sustained light injuries and neighbours suffered respiratory Read more…

Ten Peruvians Killed In Canadian Car Crash, Three Injured

Ten Peruvian farm workers were killed and three more injured late Monday in Canada when a van they were traveling in was involved in a violent accident with a flatbed truck outside Stratford, in southwestern Ontario. 

Peru’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the injured had been identified as as Javier Abelardo Aldo Medina, Juan Jose Ariza, and Edgar Sulla Puma. The ministry said in a statement that the three are being treated at separate hospitals in Ontario. Read more…

Owner Of Drug Rehab Center Faces 8 Years In Prison

The owner of an unlicensed drug rehab center that was engulfed by a deadly fire over the weekend could receive eight years in prison, according to newspaper El Comercio, citing lawyer Mario Amoretti.

Raul Garcia Albornoz, owner of the Christ is Love center in Lima’s lower-class San Juan de Lurigancho district, turned himself into police following the fire on Saturday.

Peru’s Public Ministry opened an investigation into the cause of the fire, which broke out when two patients set fire to mattresses in an attempt to escape. The fire Read more…

Christmas Fire Leaves 200 Families Homeless in Callao

A fire on Christmas day destroyed more than 50 homes and left some 200 families homeless in the port city of Callao.

The fire began at about 10:30 a.m. on Sunday in the low-income neighborhood of Atalaya, and was caused by firecrackers, which are popular during the holidays.

No fatalities were reported, local media said. Read more…

Five fatalities in small plane crash in Peruvian jungle

Five people died when a small police plane in Peru’s eastern Ucayali department crashed, local media reported on Friday.

The crash was caused by mechanical failures late Thursday after the plane took off from the airport in Iparia, in the province of Coronel Portillo, on route to Pucallpa, the capital of Ucayali, daily El Comercio said. Read more…

Over 80 percent of Peru traffic accidents caused by human error

The vast majority of traffic accidents in Peru are due to human factors, including recklessness on the part of the driver or pedestrians, according to Peruvian insurance association Apeseg.

Apeseg representative Gustavo Cerdeña said 83  percent of traffic accidents are due to human error, Peru.21 reported.

“The poor behavior of the driver is clear,” Cerdeña said. “They fall asleep, speed, drive while drunk, or are reckless when passing other vehicles. The irresponsibility Read more…

Twenty-one dead, numerous injured as bus plunges 200 meters in southern highlands

At least 21 people are dead after an inter-provincial bus racing through Peru’s southern highlands went over a cliff early Friday, daily El Comercio reported.

The accident occurred at 5:00a.m. when a bus belonging to the Virgen del Carmen transport company plunged down a 200 meter abyss after losing control on a higway between Paucartambo and Cusco.

The accident, which also left some 47 people injured, was a result of excessive speed, authorities say.

In Peru – where the high number of severe car and bus accidents is notorious – many of the vehicles are old, drivers reckless, and the roads often in a bad state. In the past several years, an average 3,500 people have died and 40,000 are injured every year as a result of car or bus accidents.

Bus goes over cliff in Peruvian Andes, at least 22 dead; 25 injured

An inter-provincial bus lost control and plunged some 200 meters off a cliff, killing at least 22 people and injuring another 25, newspaper Peru. 21 reported.

The accident occurred at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday in the Sayapullo district Peru’s northern La Libertad department. The cause of the accident is still unknown. Read more…

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