About 400 tourists stranded at the foot of Machu Picchu because of the unrest in Peru, which has already claimed 46 lives since December and continues in the capital, were evacuated yesterday by authorities who closed the famous archaeological site from the Inca era, reported AFP.

Yesterday afternoon, 418 tourists from the country and abroad were transferred from the village of Machu Picchu to Cusco - the capital of the Incas and the tourism capital of Peru, the Ministry of Tourism announced on Twitter.

The department published a photo of a train that connects the two settlements, and another of the tourists transported by it.

Machu Picchu can only be reached on foot or by this train.

Piscaucho is the closest village to Machu Picchu connected by the railway network.

Tourists were stranded at the site for several days as protesters damaged the railway.

Foreigners from around the world had signed up on evacuation lists on Friday.

Yesterday morning, authorities announced the closure of the Inca Trail network and the Machu Picchu citadel due to the social situation and in the interest of visitor security, the culture ministry said in a statement.

In December, around 300 tourists were already stranded at Machu Picchu before being evacuated on a special train that included railway workers to repair the tracks under the supervision of law enforcement.

Second consecutive night of riots in Lima, dozens arrested

The imposing Inca citadel is a major tourist attraction that attracts more than a million visitors a year, but numbers have recently dwindled due to Covid restrictions.

Tourism, which is vital to Peru's economy, provides between 3 and 4 percent of GDP and guarantees employment for Peruvians from all walks of life, notes AFP.

Yesterday morning, another demonstrator died from his wounds received the day before.

He was injured in clashes with police in the southern region of Puno, near the border with Bolivia.

Some 46 people have been killed so far in the weeks of clashes, and another nine have been killed in road accidents linked to the barricades erected during the protests.

Alfonso Barenechea of ​​the prosecutor's office's crime prevention department told local radio that 205 people were arrested at the National University of San Marcos in Lima for trespassing on campus and allegedly stealing electronic devices.

Late Friday, a group of masked protesters stormed the campus and removed security guards after stripping employees of bulletproof vests and personal protective equipment, the university said. 

In videos shared online, an armored car is seen smashing down a door at the capital's university complex to make way for security forces.

The protests began to rock Peru after former President Pedro Castillo was ousted in December.

He tried to dissolve the legislature to avoid impeachment proceedings.

The unrest, which until this week was concentrated in southern Peru, prompted the government to extend the state of emergency to six more regions, curtailing some civil rights.

stranded tourists

Machu Picchu