Photo: ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP / Getty Images
Four tourists were killed and 16 injured after visiting the world famous Machu Picchu in Peru 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 Affairs in a statement.
Among the wounded were four French, two Greeks, two Israelis, two Canadians, two Argentines, two Peruvians, one Dutch and one Spanish.
The bus fell into “a ravine of just over 100 meters,” said Roberto Sánchez, Minister of Tourism and Foreign Affairs.
The accident occurred Sunday night about 100 kilometers from the city of Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca empire that is the main starting point for many people visiting the World Heritage site of Machu Picchu.
“There was fog where the accident occurred,” added Sánchez, who said that the tourists returned from Machu Picchuwhich is located in the Andes mountains.
He said that some of the injured tourists would soon be flown to the Peruvian capital Lima by an Air Force plane.
Traffic accidents are common in Peru, where speeding, poor road surfaces, lack of road signs and poor control by authorities exacerbate the problem.
Three weeks ago, 16 people were killed when another minibus crashed into a ravine in central Junín province.
Some 5,000 tourists daily visit the citadel of Machu Picchu, which was built in the 15th century by the Inca emperor Pachacutec.
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Source-eldiariony.com