Rehabilitation centre consumed by fire in Peru

Fire fighters had to punch holes through walls to rescue residents locked inside of a two-story private rehabilitation centre for addicts which caught fire in Peru’s capital of Lima.

At least 27 people were killed in The Christ Is Love centre for drug and alcohol addicts. According to Health Minister Alberto Tejada, the centre was unlicensed and overcrowded with resident were being kept like prisoners.

The cause of the fire is still unknown but most of the victims, who were male, died of asphyxiation and five rescued men were hospitalised in critical condition.

A resident of the centre witnessed flames coming from the first floor in the morning while eating breakfast and jumped from a window to safety as all doors were locked.

Tejada said that the centre was a house which had been taken over and the number of people inside the centre at the time of the fire was still unknown.

A search for the centre’s owners and staff was commenced by authorities although a number were found to have fled the scene. The Christ Is Love rehabilitation centre was said to make use of biblical teachings to help treat the addicts but Tejada said many of the patients were often left medically unsupervised within the centre.