Fire near Machu Picchu leaves one dead, two injured

There is great concern in Peru. A fire, which threatens the main access route to the famous Inca city of Machu Picchu, has left one dead, Civil Defense announced on Saturday.

The fire has been progressing since Friday in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, in the Cusco region, where the Ollantaytambo train station is located, the busiest to get to Machu Picchu, a site classified since 1983 on the UNESCO world heritage list.

Two injured with second degree burns

“We have an elderly person who died due to the flames and two injured people with second-degree burns,” the head of the Cusco Regional Disaster Management and Security Office, Miguel Osco, told RPP radio. “We are very close to Machu Picchu, it is the access route. […] The tourist buses pass a few hundred meters, not very far from the fire,” said a resident, Gustavo Lozano, interviewed by the radio.

Miguel Osco specified that the fire progressed quickly due to the weather conditions: “There is a lot of sun, strong solar radiation. […] The vegetation is very dry and this means that the fire spreads quickly. » The fire started from burns that farmers are accustomed to lighting at this time of the year to clear and gain arable land.

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The city of Machu Picchu is Peru's main tourist site and attracts nearly 3 million visitors per year.