Head-on train crash near Machu Picchu kills one and injures 40
- - Head-on train crash near Machu Picchu kills one and injures 40
Kelly-Anne TaylorDecember 31, 2025 at 12:57 AM
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One of the trains involved in the head-on collision - Carolina Paucar/AFP
One person died and 40 others were injured in a head-on collision between two trains taking tourists to and from Peru’s Machu Picchu on Tuesday.
The conductor of one of the trains was killed in the crash, according to the prosecutor’s office in Cusco, the city closest to the world-renowned archaeological site.
Video footage circulating on social media shows injured victims lying next to the tracks and two damaged locomotives with broken windows and dented sides standing idle.
A dozen ambulances and medical personnel went to the remote site, which does not have direct road access.
Credit: X/Social media
Police wearing hard hats and rose-coloured jackets carried injured passengers on stretchers from the trains to receive treatment.
The US embassy in Peru said American citizens were injured in the crash. Local officials were yet to identify any victims as of Wednesday morning.
Videos circulating on social media showed injured victims lying next to the tracks - Carolina Paucar
Police carried injured passengers on stretchers from the trains to receive treatment - Reuters
Machu Picchu is located in south-east Peru, where the Andes mountains meet the Amazon basin.
The 15th-century Inca citadel is the backbone of Peru’s tourism industry, attracting well over 1.5 million visitors each year, averaging at 4,500 a day. The ancient site was used by the Inca empire as a royal retreat and sacred religious sanctuary.
Most visitors take a train from the nearby town of Aguas Calientes to the Unesco World Heritage site. Machu Picchu can also be reached on foot via a four-day hike.
The 15th-century Inca citadel is the backbone of Peru’s tourism industry, attracting well over 1.5m visitors each year - Pintai Suchachaisri
Rail agency Ferrocarril Transandino said a train operated by PeruRail collided with another belonging to Inca Rail around lunchtime on the single track that links the town with Machu Picchu.
The cause of the accident is not yet known.
In September, about 1,400 tourists were evacuated from the Aguas Calientes train station that serves Machu Picchu and 900 others were left stranded after protesters blocked the railway tracks with logs and rocks.
Locals were demanding a new bus company be chosen in a fair bidding process to ferry visitors to the foot of Machu Picchu, and have repeatedly protested to press their demands.
The Inca empire’s ancient capital Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century at an altitude of 2,500m (about 8,200ft) on orders from the Inca ruler Pachacutec.
It is considered a marvel of architecture and engineering.
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Source: “AOL Breaking”
