More than 500 people, including residents and tourists, were evacuated by train after the flooding that the town of Machu Picchu suffered last Friday, located in the lower part of the mountains where the famous Inca citadel is located, in the Cusco region. , in southern Peru.
The PeruRail railway company reported this Monday that, after the Alcamayo River overflowed, it evacuated 569 passengers, including residents of neighboring communities and national and foreign tourists, on two train frequencies scheduled for that purpose.
In this sense, all visitors who were staying in the town of Machu Picchu were removed thanks to a joint effort with the district municipality, the National Institute of Civil Defense (Indeci) and the National Police of Peru (PNP).
"Our priority at this time is to continue supporting the institutions that have been attending to the emergency and those affected by this natural disaster."the company said in a statement.
He reported that a group of tourists who completed the visit on foot to Machu Picchu along the Inca Trail and who arrived in the area through the Amazonian access will also be evacuated.
PeruRail indicated that it will continue to coordinate the programming of special trains to attend evacuations or to facilitate the transport of machinery, food, medicine, or personnel to attend to the emergency.
Railway operations in general on the route to Machu Picchu remain suspended, while the company provides facilities to its clients to make modifications, rescheduling, or refunds of tickets to visit the famous citadel.
The intense rains recorded in Cusco caused the Alcamayo River to overflow, which covered the streets of the town of Machu Picchu with stones and mud, the first floors of several houses, hotels and restaurants, as well as part of the railway that moves the tourists to the Inca citadel.
The Regional Emergency Operations Center reported that this event left one person injured and another missing, in addition to a house destroyed, four affected and various damages to three commercial premises in the town, also known as Aguas Calientes and located in the Cusco province of Urubamba. .
Workers and residents of the affected town carried out cleaning and debris removal tasks, together with members of the National Police, while the company Electro Sur Este activated a contingency plan to restore the electricity service in the area, which was left without post-emergency supply.
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