One dead, 47 injured after 'incident' at Peru football derby

At least one person died and 47 more were injured Friday night in an unspecified "incident" at Alejandro Villanueva Stadium in Peru's capital during a rally ahead of a football derby, according to the health ministry.

"There has been an unfortunate incident at the stadium in which 47 people have been injured...and sadly there is one fatality," Health Minister Juan Carlos Velasco told media, without providing details on the cause.

The incident was initially attributed to the collapse of a part of a stadium wall, but the Alianza Lima football team later said in a post on X that the accident was not caused by "the fall of walls or structural failures of the sports complex."

Velasco said 39 of the victims were sent to hospitals throughout the Lima region, including three in critical condition.

Fire Chief Marcos Pajuelo told reporters that "the structure of the southern stands appeared to be in good condition. There are no collapsed walls or sections fallen into the pit."

The Alianza Peru match against Club Universitario de Deportes is currently set to proceed as planned on Saturday night, the Peruvian football league said in a statement.