A head-on collision between two tourist trains heading to the famous Machu Picchu citadel in southeastern Peru killed at least one person and injured forty others on Tuesday, December 30, authorities said.
The victim is the driver of one of the two trains, said the Cusco regional prosecutor’s office. The nationality of the injured is not yet known.
Listed as a World Heritage Site since 1983, Machu Picchu welcomes an average of 4,500 visitors per day, including a large number of foreigners, according to official figures.
“Human and material damage”
To access the famous Inca city, visitors first take a train, then a bus. The accident occurred at 1:20 p.m. local time (7:20 p.m. Paris time), on the one-way railway linking the town of Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu, in the Andean region of Cuzco.
The company Ferrocarril Transandino, concessionaire of the railway line, announced that “two trains of operators Inca Rail and PeruRail collided, causing human and material damage”.
Videos sent by passengers to the RPP media show tourists lying at the edge of the track and locomotives damaged by the impact.
