Two tourist trains collide in Peru's Machu Picchu, at least one dead, 40 injured
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Two tourist trains collide in Peru's Machu Picchu, at least one dead, 40 injured")
Peru’s Machu Picchu train collision Photograph: (AFP)
Two trains collided head-on on the single-track line to Peru’s Machu Picchu, killing one conductor and injuring at least 40 people. The crash occurred between Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu. Rescue teams rushed to the remote Andean site as the cause remains unknown.
Two trains have collided on the line that services Peru’s Machu Picchu, killing one person and injuring at least 40 others. The deceased was the conductor of one of the two trains, according to the prosecutor’s office in Cusco, the city closest to the famous Inca citadel. The head-on collision between two trains happened on the single track that links the town of Ollantaytambo with Machu Picchu. Rail agency Ferrocarril Transandino said a train operated by PeruRail collided with another belonging to Inca Rail around lunchtime. The cause of the accident was not yet known.
AFP reported that videos sent by passengers to the RPP television channel showed injured victims lying next to the tracks with two damaged locomotives standing idle nearby. A dozen ambulances and medical personnel were rushed to the site in a remote Andean area without direct road access.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, the ancient fortified complex receives some 4,500 visitors on average each day, many of them foreigners, according to the tourism ministry.Most tourists take a train and a bus to reach the historic site high in the Andes mountains. Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century at an altitude of 2,500 meters (about 8,200 feet) on orders from the Inca ruler Pachacutec. It is considered a marvel of architecture and engineering.
(This is a developing story)
