Dramatic testimony of a soldier who saved from death in Ilave: “many did not know how to swim, we sank because of the weight of our backpacks”

New testimonies are revealed, after six peruvian army soldiers lost their lives after falling into the mighty waters of the Ilave River, in Puno. This unfortunate event happened on March 5, when a patrol was heading towards the town of Chucuito in Collao to provide support to other units in the presence of demonstrators.

As recalled, last Saturday (March 4), acts of vandalism were recorded in this sector, since a group of demonstrators they set fire to the Chucuito police station and they also burned down the seat of the judiciary, which is why the reinforcement of more troops was necessary.

Given this, it was ordered that a group of soldiers from the Pachacútec barracks go to Chucuito to support and thus avoid more chaos and violence. Official sources claim that the unit of soldiers failed to reach this area, as they were cornered by more than 300 people who tried to attack them.

After encountering the crowd, the soldiers decided to enter the Ilave River to cut off the road and avoid confronting the demonstrators. However, the strong current swept them away and it was there that six members of this unit lost their lives.

“The reason (for him) we crossed the river was (because) we had no other escape anywhere. There were about 800 to 900 people practically surrounding us, they started throwing rocks at us and there we started crossing the river, that was the only way out we had to save our lives,” the soldier said. Vilca, in a video broadcast by Canal N.

“When we crossed the river, (people) insisted on throwing stones at us, the insults started, that’s when we separated the chains from what we were and the current took us and part of the troops began to drown,” he added.

Another soldier gave details of the shouting and insults they received from residents. “People insulted us, they called us ‘murderers, corrupt, everything’. They laughed at us, they called us “dogs” that we didn’t use for anything. Some came with sticks, they beat us with their leather whips, with their belts. With no way out, we had to cross the river, we were stuck,” he said.

La República newspaper shared the transcript of an audio in which the soldiers in charge of Captain (Joshua Frisancho Lazo) forces them to cross the mighty river, despite the fact that the young soldiers mentioned that they could not swim. Moreover, in this material they indicate that there was no presence of demonstrators.

“They say the population cornered us. There was no one, promo, there. Because from what I saw, to cross the river, it was clear. Scattered were the people. There were about twenty of them, I believe, who were shouting on the other side (…) murderer. Most people were on deck. There were a number of people there. The others were scattered. the captain (Joshua Frisancho Lazo) said: “Dogs, we’re going to cross the river, or they’ll be poor!”. Many said they could not swim (…). Still had to cross. We were with our backpack, like that. With the weight and everything, I think it was also difficult for me to reach the shore. The weight of the backpack. Weapons, like that,” the Army member who witnessed the events explained in detail.

“We held on, again. We crossed while hanging on, but we completely let go because everyone wanted to swim. Everyone wanted to go out for themselves. He could no longer help another. This is where we started to despair. We became desperate and we all let go. They were still grabbing Quispe (…)”, he expressed.

According to the journalistic report, the version of this soldier was corroborated by the testimony of Celia Montalico, mother of the deceased soldier. Carlos Quispe Montalico. She assured that her son was taken by the captain of the barracks without eating and taken on foot to Juli.