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Two trains taking tourists to Peru’s famous Machu Picchu archaeological site have crashed killing a driver and injuring dozens of people including British toursits.
The Foreign Office told The Standard: “We are supporting a number of British nationals involved in a train collision near Machu Picchu, Peru, and are in contact with the local authorities.”
The head-on collision happened on the railway leading to the Inca citadel - the Andean nation's top tourist site that draws about 1.5 million visitors each year.
Police are investigating the collision between trains operated by Inca Rail S.A. and PeruRail S.A., which mainly transport tourists to the iconic site.
A health official said about 20 people were in relatively serious condition.
People evacuate a train carriage after two trains collided head-on on the railway leading to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchuvia REUTERSA police officer added that foreign tourists were among the injured.
Images posted on social media shortly after the crash showed the badly damaged locomotives facing each other on the track, broken glass strewn around and injured people being treated on the sides of the tracks.
The crash happened in the early afternoon on Tuesday near Qoriwayrachina, also an archeological site.
Railway services were suspended along the line connecting Machu Picchu with the nearby city of Cuzco.
One of the two trains involved in the crash AFP via Getty ImagesMost visitors to Machu Picchu arrive by train to the nearby town of Aguas Calientes.
Machu Picchu can also be reached on foot, with visitors trekking for four days from the small town of Ollantaytambo.