A tourist injured after a bus accident is carried on a stretcher outside a health center in the town of Machu Picchu before being transferred to the Andean city of Cuzco, Peru, on September 16, 2024. Agence France-Presse
LIMA — Thirty tourists, including five Mexicans and six Italians, were severely injured in Peru on Monday when their bus crashed while descending from the ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, poice said.
The driver lost control and the bus plunged off the zig-zagging mountain road that connects the citadel with the tourist town of Aguas Calientes, falling some 15 meters (50 feet).
“We have 30 injured tourists, they have all been taken to Cusco,” a police official told AFP.
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In the immediate aftermath of the crash, the police and local residents came to the aid of the tourists to help bring them to the town health center.
At least 20 tourists, including Chileans, Italians and Guatemalans, were hospitalized for broken bones.
Two Japanese nationals and a Chinese citizen were also hurt.
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The bus company said that police have opened an investigation into the incident.
Machu Picchu, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site, welcomes an average of 4,500 visitors a day.
The ancient citadel, built in the 15th century by Incan emperor Pachacuti, sits at an altitude of 2,438 meters in the Peruvian Andes.