At least six dead after mall roof collapse in Trujillo as rescue anger grows

# At least six dead after mall roof collapse in Trujillo as rescue anger grows

date: 2025-02-21

At least six people were killed and more than 80 injured when a food court roof collapsed at the Real Plaza shopping centre in Trujillo, northern Peru, in a disaster that quickly became as much a crisis of rescue capacity as of structural failure.

The packet’s source, Metro citing reporting from Peru, said the collapse happened around 8.40pm on Friday and that six people died, with three in critical condition. It also reported that more than 80 people, including 11 children, were injured. Those figures made the collapse one of the most serious public-space disasters reported in Peru this year, and the presence of children among the victims widened the sense of shock.

The available evidence says witnesses heard a loud noise before the roof gave way. It also says rescuers had difficulty locating survivors and that fire department head Luis Roncal told reporters they did not find signs of life as search teams worked with rescue dogs. Those details suggest the collapse left a large debris field and a rescue effort that immediately became technical as well as urgent.

The response itself became part of the story. Fire commander Gelqui Gómez said the first cranes brought to the scene were unsuitable for lifting heavy debris, while critics complained that nearby nightclubs allegedly remained open longer than they should have and interfered with rescue dogs’ ability to hear victims. The packet also notes frustration over President Dina Boluarte’s delayed response, which drew criticism for coming 12 hours after the incident and devoting only a minute of her speech to the collapse.

Officials have opened an investigation into the mall’s safety and structure, and the public prosecutor said it would be conducted with rigor, objectivity and speed. The owners of Real Plaza also said they had launched an independent inquiry. That dual-track response reflects the questions now hanging over the site: whether the roof failed because of a design problem, maintenance failure, load issue or some combination of factors. The supplied reporting does not answer that, so the cause should be treated as unresolved.

What the evidence does show is the scale of the human impact. Children were among the injured, families were searching for missing relatives and the emergency response was under strain from the first hours. Later reporting in the packet says Harumi Carbajal Velázquez, 25, was among the dead, but the broader toll remained the main fact: six killed, dozens hurt and a search effort working through rubble and criticism at the same time.

The collapse has also sparked scrutiny of the emergency system around one of Trujillo’s major shopping sites. When a mall roof fails in a crowded food court, the immediate challenge is not just rescue but coordination: cranes, dogs, fire crews, medics and public communication all have to work quickly. In this case, the packet suggests that system struggled from the outset.

For now, the verified story is stark enough on its own. A crowded shopping centre in northern Peru collapsed at night, killing at least six people and injuring scores more, and the emergency response that followed has already become a public controversy.