27 Jan 2010
Flooding and mudslides near Peru's historic ruins of Machu Picchu have stranded 1900 tourists, emergency services said.
An operation to airlift the foreigners out of the southeastern disaster zone hit was suspended because of heavy rain after just 75 were flown out by helicopter.
There are reports five people have died.
Peru's presidential chief of staff Javier Velasquez traveled to Cusco with emergency-level ministers and officials to evaluate the situation and coordinate rescues.
The country's civil defense service said it estimated the homes of 1300 people in poor rural areas - many of them riverside dwellings made of clay and straw - had been destroyed. Another 12,000 people were affected to a lesser degree, losing possessions or suffering property damage.
In Cusco, where a 60-day state of emergency has been declared, two bridges collapsed and 250 houses were destroyed.
Machu Picchu is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in Latin America, attracting more than 400,000 visitors a year.
The 15th-century Inca ruins are located on a high mountain ridge 70 kilometres from Cusco. A railway that transports tourists to the site was covered by a mudslide
An operation to airlift the foreigners out of the southeastern disaster zone hit was suspended because of heavy rain after just 75 were flown out by helicopter.
There are reports five people have died.
Peru's presidential chief of staff Javier Velasquez traveled to Cusco with emergency-level ministers and officials to evaluate the situation and coordinate rescues.
The country's civil defense service said it estimated the homes of 1300 people in poor rural areas - many of them riverside dwellings made of clay and straw - had been destroyed. Another 12,000 people were affected to a lesser degree, losing possessions or suffering property damage.
In Cusco, where a 60-day state of emergency has been declared, two bridges collapsed and 250 houses were destroyed.
Machu Picchu is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in Latin America, attracting more than 400,000 visitors a year.
The 15th-century Inca ruins are located on a high mountain ridge 70 kilometres from Cusco. A railway that transports tourists to the site was covered by a mudslide
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