The bodies of all four victims of a bus crash in the Machu Picchu tourist area arrived at Lima airport on Tuesday, along with an injured tourist who was taken for further medical attention.
A minibus carrying 20 passengers plunged down a road about 26 kilometres from the citadel of Machu Picchu, tumbling down 100 metres into an area known as Abra Malaga on Sunday.
Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century as a religious sanctuary of the Incas and is located in the Amazon of southeastern Peru at 2,490 metres of altitude.
“The 20 people affected by this unfortunate accident are Colombians, Argentinians, Peruvians, also citizens from Greece, France, Holland, Israel, Canada,” the minister of foreign trade and tourism, Roberto Sanchez, confirmed.
The minibus had a Peruvian driver and guide, as well as one Peruvian tourist.
French tourist Timothée Malexieux, who was among the passengers, told journalists that they all returned from visiting Machu Picchu and that he was sleeping when the overturn occurred.
“I’m physically okay,” he added briefly in Spanish.
Drivers’ recklessness and excessive speed are the main causes of road accidents in Peru. Experts have indicated for almost two decades that the solution is comprehensive transport reform, but no government has initiated it.
Between January and October 2021, some 2,053 people have died in traffic accidents in Peru, according to the latest available figures.
