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Peru: Six soldiers drown in river while responding to protests

Published:Monday | March 6, 2023 | 9:34 PM
Low income homes rise from San Cristobal Hill in Lima, Peru, Monday, March 6, 2023. Peru is in the midst of a political crisis as opponent of the government are seeking the resignation of President Dina Boluarte and the dissolution of Congress, after former President Pedro Castillo was ousted and arrested for trying to dissolve Congress in December of 2022. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Six soldiers drowned while trying to swim across a river in the Andes to reach a town where protests demanding the resignation of Peru's president have turned violent, military officials said Monday.

The bodies of two soldiers who had been missing were located later in the day, raising the death toll from four to six, the Defence Ministry said late Monday afternoon.

“With the location of the remains ... the search and rescue efforts have concluded,” the ministry said on social media.

Five other soldiers were also suffering hypothermia following attempts to cross the Ilave River on Sunday, the ministry said, adding that it lowered its flag to half-staff to mourn the deceased.

The soldiers were trying to get to the Puno region town of Juli to help secure the area following protests Saturday that turned violent and left five civilians injured and a police station and courthouse on fire.

The soldiers, based in the nearby town of Ilave, initially tried to cross the river using a bridge, but it was blocked by protesters, forcing the soldiers to try to swim across at another location in near-freezing temperatures.

The ministry blamed the deaths in part on the “hostile attitude” of the protesters who blocked the bridge.

Street protests have engulfed Peru since December 7 when former President Pedro Castillo, Peru's first leader from a rural Andean background, was impeached and imprisoned after he tried to dissolve Congress last month.

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