Every McDonald's in Peru Closes To Mourn 2 Employees Electrocuted in Restaurant
All of the Peru-based McDonald’s restaurants closed temporarily last week after two teens died in an apparent accident at a McDonald’s in Lima.
Alexandra Porras Inga, 19, and Gabriel Campos Zapata, 18, died Sunday, according to Fox News.
Acros Dorados, which operates more than 2,200 restaurants in Latin America, announced that all 29 McDonald’s restaurants in Peru would close Monday and Tuesday because of the deaths.
“We share the sorrow and extreme pain of the affected families of Carlos Gabriel Edgardo Campos Zapata y Alexandra Antonella Porras Inga for this terrible loss,” the company said in a statement, CBS News reported.
“The police took control of the scene, and the accident currently remains under active investigation — we take this matter incredibly seriously and remain committed to creating a safe work environment for all our colleagues,” the statement said.
“We continue to work in collaboration with the authorities to expedite the investigation and provide closure to the family members as soon as possible.”
Johana Inga Argote, the mother of Alexandra Porras Inga, said she learned about her daughter’s death by a call from another McDonald’s worker.
She told The New York Times that when she arrived, she could see floors that were still wet, cables that were loose and her daughter’s body.
Porras Inga’s family believe she was washing the floor and struck a loose wire, The Times reported.
Inga Argote said her daughter did not appear to have safety equipment on when she saw the body.
She urged McDonald’s to make sure employees “receive what they need to stay safe.”
“Don’t let them die,” she told The Times.
“Take care of them.”
The incident has led to a full investigation by the public prosecutor’s office, according to The Guardian.
Police said Porras Inga sustained an electric shock while working on a soft drink machine.
Campos Zapata was electrocuted trying to help her, police said.
The deaths sparked protests in Lima. Further, the restaurant where the accident took place was closed for safety violations.
Although Acros Dorados said it was cooperating with local authorities, firefighters told local media outlets there were not allowed inside when they arrived at the scene of the tragedy.
Peru’s workplace safety agency, Sunafil, will investigate the accident and said it would fine the restaurant if it is found responsible.
“If the rights of these young people have been violated, we will proceed with the sanctions, although the money is not important because a life has no price,” Silvia Cáceres, Peru’s labor minister, said.
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