Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Peru mudslides strand Machu Picchu tourists, 5 dead

LIMA, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Peru scrambled helicopters to evacuate some 2,000 tourists stranded in the Andes on Tuesday after torrential rains and mudslides killed 5 people and cut off access to Peru's ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.

Tourists became trapped at the World Heritage site in the jungle in eastern Peru after the heaviest rains in the area in 15 years flooded the zone over the weekend.

An Argentine tourist and a Peruvian guide were killed along the trail in separate mudslides, the government said, while two other deaths were reported over the weekend. The fifth person was killed when a hillside collapsed.

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