In Peru, protests that left at least 19 dead and 569 injured, triggered by the impeachment and arrest of President Pedro Castillo on December 7, also had an impact on people traveling at the same time in the country. Some 200 tourists stranded in the famous Machu Picchu region were evacuated on Saturday.
On board a train, they arrived near the town of Piscacucho, in the region of Cuzco, where a huge rock blocked the way. From there, tourists, including North Americans and Europeans, walked about two kilometers to board buses heading for the city of Cusco, which has an international airport.
About 15 French people stranded
At least 622 tourists, including 525 foreigners, including around fifteen French people, were stranded on the famous site, according to a census of the municipality. The train, which had been stopped since Tuesday, is the only modern way to get to the citadel from Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, 110 km away.
The army promised to send a helicopter on Saturday which will provide “four humanitarian flights for the transfer of tourists” from Machu Picchu to Cuzco, according to the municipality, which specifies that priority will be given to families with “children and vulnerable people”. The airport of Cuzco, the tourist capital of the country, reopened on Friday afternoon, allowing the start of the evacuation of tourists, according to images released by the Peruvian Ministry of Defense.