Helicopter Rescue For Inca Trail Trekkers

The BBC is reporting that around 1400 tourists and trekkers have been airlifted to safety from near Machu Picchu in Peru after being stranded by floods and mud-slides that have hit road and rail links in the area.

It follows on from Wanderlust reports a few days ago that trekkers on the Inca Trail were stranded after landslides cut off part of the trail. Meanwhile, the South American Explorers Cusco Clubhouse is reporting that:

'Mudslides and bridge outages that have severely affected transportation in several sectors. Services/travel affected include the trains to Machu Picchu, which are not currently running due to damage to the rails, hikes to Machu Picchu are also suspended or not advised.'

Video on the BBC web site shows tourists being helicoptered out from Aguas Calientes in the valley below the lost city and also some footage of raging floodwaters.

Finally the BBC reports that one of five people reports that one of five people killed include 'a trekker crushed while sleeping in a tent'.

A Guardian story says that the situation is fluid and complicated by trekkers who started walking the Inca Trail before it was closed on Tuesday finishing their trek and arriving at Machu Picchu to find no transport links back to Cusco.