Two trains have collided on the rail line serving Peru’s famed archaeological site of Machu Picchu, killing at least one person and injuring dozens.
Rail agency Ferrocarril Transandino said a train operated by PeruRail collided with another locomotive belonging to Inca Rail around lunchtime on the single track that links the town of Ollantaytambo with Machu Picchu.
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.
A health official said about 20 people were in relatively serious condition.
Images posted on social media shortly after the crash showed the badly damaged locomotives facing each other on the track, broken glass strewn around, and injured people being treated on the sides of the tracks.
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, Machu Picchu receives some 4,500 visitors on average each day, many of them foreigners, according to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism.
Known for its perfectly fitting stone bricks, the site was built in the 15th century by the Incas and served as a sanctuary for the nation’s emperors.
Most tourists take a train and a bus to reach the historical site high in the Andes mountains.
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