Peru: Two McDonald's employees killed, manager blames faulty machines

After two McDonald’s employees were electrocuted last Sunday in Pueblo Libre,+ the general manager of the fast-food franchise in Peru informed the media that the employees died because of a faulty beverage machine. He added that the machine had earlier experienced electrical faults but was not reported to the company’s maintenance department.

Ongoing protests

According to the police, two employees Alexandra Porras, 18, and Carlos Gabriel Campo, 19, were killed while cleaning the kitchen.

José Andrade, general manager of Arcos Dorados told local media on Friday night that unfortunately, the information that the machine wasn’t working properly and giving people shocks was only known to the local managers and was not escalated, therefore, no immediate action had been taken. 

Arcos Dorados manages all the McDonald’s restaurants in Southern American nation. 

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Relatives of the two employees who were killed, along with 80 others, started a protest against the fast-food chain on Saturday afternoon. The protestors carried the posters bearing the photographs of the victims and slogans that read, “Justice for Alexa and Gabriel.”

Rocío Zapata, Gabriel’s mother, claimed that the restaurant did not offer proper training to its employees. She asked who is going to give back their children.

Elizabeth Carmona, a lawyer acting for the victims said that she has asked for prosecution of McDonald’s and Arcos Dorados representatives in Peru. She further said that the substantial evidence verified by criminal experts has determined that a power leak caused the deaths.

Arcos Dorados which owns and operates the restaurant chain throughout Latin America said that it had shut all the 29 outlets for safety inspections. Adding to that, José Andrade said that the incident had hit them all very hard and they are working hard to review all processes and protocols to ensure such a thing does not happen again.

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