#tourists #die #bus #crash #visiting #Machu #Picchu
Four tourists were killed and 16 injured after visiting Peru’s world-famous Machu Picchu site when the minibus they were traveling in crashed into a ravine, authorities said on Monday.
Three of the dead tourists were Colombians and the other Peruvian, said the Ministry of Tourism and Foreign Trade.
Among the injured were four French, two Greeks, two Israelis, two Canadians, two Argentines, two Peruvians, one Dutchman and one Spaniard.
The minibus fell “into a gorge a little over 100 meters long,” said Roberto Sanchez, Minister of Tourism and External Trade.
The accident happened Sunday night about 100 kilometers from the city of Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire, which is the main departure point for many people visiting the Machu Picchu World Heritage Site.
“There was fog at the scene of the accident,” added Sanchez, who said the tourists were on their way back from Machu Picchu, which is in the Andes.
He said some of the injured tourists would soon be taken to the Peruvian capital, Lima, by air force plane.
Traffic accidents are common in Peru, where speeding, poor road surfaces, lack of road signs and poor enforcement by authorities exacerbate the problem.
Three weeks ago, 16 people died when another minibus crashed into a ravine in the central province of Junin.
About 5,000 tourists visit the citadel of Machu Picchu, built by the Inca Emperor Pachacutec in the 15th century.
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