A suspected arson attack killed 10 members of one family, including five children, during a fire at their home and mattress workshop in Lima's La Victoria district early on Wednesday.
Seventeen people were inside the building when the blaze broke out at 03:00 local time; seven managed to escape, survivor Gina Vilchez said. The dead ranged in age from 3 to 72, and two others were injured. The family manufactured mattresses and had reportedly received extortion threats before the fire, which destroyed two homes. Police are investigating whether an extortionist set fire to a motorcycle near stacked mattresses at the entrance to start the blaze.
Colonel John Lujan is heading the investigation into a possible deliberate act. Peru's president-elect Keiko Fujimori visited the ruins, calling the deaths "a terrible massacre."