Fire destroys Peru shantytown: Hundreds homeless
LIMA, Peru (Reuters) -- A fire ripped through a shantytown on the desert outskirts of Lima, destroying hundreds of houses and leaving 1,500 people homeless, Peruvian authorities said early on Friday.
No deaths or injuries were reported immediately after the Thursday night fire in Villa El Salvador, about 12 miles (20 km) south of the Peruvian capital. But residents and firefighters said people were missing and the number of injuries or fatalities would not be clear until daybreak.
The fire, which began in the early evening, leveled about 600 houses over an area of a mile (1.6 km) and burned for about three or four hours, according to Fire Chief Tulio Nicolini.
Residents struggled against the flames by throwing sand from the surrounding dunes. The shantytown was not accessible by road and the fire had nearly burned itself out by the time firefighters arrived.
Local authorities were investigating the cause of the fire, which they said left 1,500 people without shelter.
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