Fire near Machu Picchu access route kills one and injures two
A fire in Peru’s Sacred Valley, near the main road to Machu Picchu and the Ollantaytambo train station, has killed one person and injured two others, officials said. Regional disaster management chief Miguel Osco attributed the blaze to controlled agricultural burning that spread in hot, windy conditions through dry vegetation.
A fire burning near the main access road to Peru’s Machu Picchu has killed one person and injured two others, officials said on Saturday. The blaze began on Friday in the Sacred Valley in the Cusco region, an area that includes Ollantaytambo train station, the busiest station for travellers visiting the ancient Inca citadel. Miguel Osco, head of the Cusco Regional Office for Disaster Management and Safety, told RPP radio that an elderly person died in the flames.
Two other people suffered second-degree burns, he said. Osco said the fire originated in controlled bush burning carried out by farmers to clear land for crops. Hot and windy weather, combined with dry vegetation, helped the flames spread quickly, according to his account.
The supplied material does not state whether the fire had been brought under control or whether access to the archaeological site or train services had been disrupted. Machu Picchu was built by the Incas in the 15th century and is located at an altitude of about 2,500 metres in the Andes. UNESCO designated the historic sanctuary a World Heritage Site in 1983.
The site is Peru’s most famous tourist destination, attracting about three million visitors each year, according to the supplied report. No further details were provided about the people injured, the extent of the fire or possible damage to nearby property.
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