Peru Protest: Tourists Stuck In Machu Picchu Airlifted Out

Peruvian authorities have airlifted vulnerable stranded tourists from the Inca mountain-top citadel of Machu Picchu to the city of Cusco.

Thousands of visitors and Peruvians were stuck for days in various locations as protesters blocked roads and forced airports to close.

A month-long state of emergency remains in place but Peruvian authorities appear to have made some headway re-stablishing disrupted transport links.

Officials in the South American country organised helicopters to evacuate tourists considered “vulnerable” from the ancient Inca citadel located at a height of 2,400m in the Andes.

Machu Picchu is one of the main draws for tourists visiting Peru.

Hundreds had been stuck there for almost a week after the train line which many tourists take to the 15th Century site was cut by protesters placing boulders on the track.

Some tourists had to walk along parts of the track before the boulders could be cleared.

On Monday, the airport in Peru’s second largest city, Arequipa, reopened.

The transport minister said the airports in the cities of Juliaca and Ayacucho would follow suit on Tuesday, while that in Cusco, which is used by many tourists visiting Machu Picchu, had reopened on Friday.