At least one person has died ahead of the Superclasico between soccer clubs Alianza and Universitario in the Peruvian capital Lima.
47 others were injured in the “incident”, according to the Peruvian Ministry of Health. The incident occurred on Friday during an event at the Alejandro Villanueva Stadium, the home of Alianza. The Peruvian authorities did not initially provide any specific information on the causes.
Health Minister Juan Carlos Velasco confirmed the casualty figures. “There has been an unfortunate incident at the stadium in which 47 people were injured. Unfortunately, there has been one death,” Velasco told media representatives. According to the minister, 39 injured people were taken to hospitals in the Lima region, three of whom were in a critical condition.
Construction defects not the cause
After there had initially been talk of a part of the stadium wall collapsing, Alianza contradicted this account. In a post on the social network X, the club explained that the accident was not caused by “the collapse of walls or structural damage to the sports complex”.
The fire department also reported no structural defects: “The structure of the south stands appeared to be in good condition. There are no collapsed walls or parts that have fallen into the interior,” explained fire chief Marcos Pajuelo.
Despite the incident, the derby is to go ahead as planned. The investigation into the exact cause of the incident is ongoing.