The Utopía nightclub fire started at 3:15 a.m. (PET) on July 20, 2002, in the Jockey Plaza shopping centre, located in Santiago de Surco, Lima, Peru, killing 29 people and injuring 54 others.
Background
The Utopía nightclub was inaugurated in May 2002 and was located on the first level of the Jockey Plaza shopping centre in a 870 m² space. The nightclub did not have an operating license from the Municipality of Santiago de Surco because it did not meet the minimum Civil Defense standards, lacking basic equipment such as fire extinguishers.
On July 19, the nightclub organized a party called Zoo, on the occasion of the launch of a fragrance by designer Hugo Boss. The administration of the nightclub contracted with the Mexican circus Los Hermanos Fuentes Gasca the presence in its premises of a lion, a bengal tiger, a chimpanzee and a horse. The animals, some from their cages, would give the show atmosphere. Despite only being able to house about 500 people, the administration had sent out more than 3,000 double invitations. In addition, the party coincided with the neighboring concert of Los Prisioneros at the Jockey Club.
Fire
At 2 a.m. on Saturday, in the booth that corresponds to the disk jockeys, a show with animals and fire was started. According to some of the survivors, to the side of the dance floor and in front of the DJ booth, several cans of gasoline had been placed to form a rectangle that suggested the stage for the show. In front were two large cages, one for the tiger and the other for the lion, while the chimpanzee and the horse were loose.
At the moment when the people in charge of the show approached with their lit torches to light the gasoline cans; one of them, who had been standing in front of the cabin, raised the torch too high and caught fire on one of the eaves of the false wooden ceiling, igniting its acoustic foam. In a matter of a few seconds, the cabin was lit. The young people who were watching the show from both levels of the club began to run to the only exit door that was marked. Those closest to the fire wanted to help. To put it out, beer and spirits were thrown at it, which fanned the flames.
Faced with this situation, the staff of the shopping centre disconnected the electricity supply, the music was cut off, the light went out and the cries of the animals, frightened by the flames, sowed panic and despair in the attendees, who called the fire brigade. Rumours that the animals had escaped worsened the situation. When the rescue teams and the police arrived, they found a grim picture: people desperately running down the stairs and trying to breathe air, bodies lying on the ground, young people in a state of shock, others looking for their friends, and the smoke that flooded all levels of the disco.
There were 29 young people who died poisoned by the gases that were emitted when burning the plastic material with which the columns of the premises were covered. In addition, the three-level venue became a death trap for the approximately 1,000 attendees, as it was found that there were no marked emergency exits. They also did not have fire extinguishers, alarms or water sprinklers.
Reactions
Then president of Peru Alejandro Toledo expressed his dismay on Saturday morning and extended his condolences "to the relatives of the young people who lost their lives in the nightclub." Toledo said that the authorities "will punish with a strong and firm hand and with the full weight of the law the irresponsible people who run these establishments in breach of the law."
The then mayor of the district of Surco, Carlos Dargent, blamed the incident on the owners of the nightclub, which lacked municipal licenses, neither for construction nor for operation, and the concessionaires of the Jockey Plaza Shopping Center, who, according to the mayor, allowed the operation of the nightclub without meeting the minimum security conditions.
Then mayor of Lima Alberto Andrade proposed that all nightclubs and mass entertainment centers be closed for 60 days so that firefighters, Civil Defense and the communes themselves can verify which venues meet the required safety standards.
In August 2002, the Congress of the Republic approved the formation of an investigative commission on the nightclub fire, which was chaired by and made up of Luis Gonzales Posada, Fabiola Morales, Manuel Bustamante and Jorge Mera. The commission presented its final report in January 2004.
Investigation
After the tragedy, the parents of the victims filed a lawsuit against the local administrators: Percy North, Alan Azizollahoff Gate, Édgar Paz Ravines and with the minority shareholder Fahed Mitre.