Ate school wall collapses, putting 150 young students at risk in Santa Clara

More than 150 young students were left exposed to danger after a perimeter wall collapsed at the Hermanas Misioneras de Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro religious school in Santa Clara, in Lima’s Ate district.

The concrete wall fell on Nicolás de Piérola Avenue during afternoon sewer works. Residents suspect that underground water seepage weakened the ground. The collapse opened direct access from the street to the school, which contains classrooms, a medical clinic and the nuns’ residence.

Carmen Carrasco, a member of the religious congregation, said staff had remained on watch to protect the children and the property. “We have not been able to sleep because we are worried that something bad might happen to us, because unscrupulous people could enter our buildings,” she told América Noticias.

Residents also reported that leaks caused more than 50 meters of the adjacent road to sink. They said water may have eroded the soil beneath the pavement, while the constant passage of cars and heavy trucks raised fears that vibrations and moisture could bring down more walls.

Parents and neighbors urged Sedapal to repair the sewer pipes and address the leaks. They called for a full excavation rather than simply filling the damaged section with earth, and asked the municipalities of Lima and Ate to assess the structural risk to the school and nearby homes.

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We have not been able to sleep because we are worried that something bad might happen to us, because unscrupulous people could enter our buildings