After interruptions and closures last week, train services and airports are now reopening.
PeruRail, Peru’s rail operator for the country’s southern and southeastern regions, said in a statement Saturday that trains are resuming operations to and from Machu Picchu on an emergency basis.
A train carrying stranded tourists arrives in Ollantaytambo, Peru, on December 17.
Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images
“To this end, we are working with the Municipality of Machu Picchu to ensure proper boarding of people on these trains, prioritizing the care of the elderly, those with health problems and families with children,” the statement said.
PeruRail also said evacuees will be taken by bus from the community of Piscacucho to the city of Cuzco, where the Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ) is located.
Peru’s transportation ministry said on Friday that the 75 kilometers (47 mi) from Machu Picchu has resumed flights after it was temporarily suspended due to protests in the country.
“Passengers who have to move during the curfew can use their travel tickets as safe conduct,” the ministry said.
Paola Lazarte, Peru’s transport and communications minister, also said on Sunday that work is underway at Arequipa airport – Peru’s largest airport in the south – to resume operations. after it was closed due to protests. She added that they had received additional lighting kits to resume night flight operations on Saturday.
According to Darwin Baca, the mayor of Machu Picchu, about 300 tourists from all over the world, including Peruvians, South Americans, Americans and Europeans, have been stranded at the historic site.
Baca told DailyExpertNews Friday that he had requested helicopter flights to evacuate the tourists after demonstrations halted trains and flights.
Stranded tourists walk through Chilca, near Machu Picchu.
Alejandra Orosco/Reuters
Protests erupted in cities across the country following Castillo’s ouster, sometimes marked by clashes with Peruvian security forces. Some are protesting in support of Castillo, while others want a total reset of the country with new general elections and a dissolution of Congress.
The Machu Picchu municipal district had said in a statement on Friday that it expects to evacuate tourists by Saturday as tensions escalated across the country – which had turned deadly as at least 20 people have died amid the political demonstrations.
“The municipality, through the Tourism Office, carries out the necessary coordination for the selection and prioritization of children and vulnerable persons for transfer on humanitarian flights, work carried out in coordination with the National Police and the district health center.” said the statement.
Warnings from international governments
The ongoing rescue is an organized collaboration between the Mayor of Machu Picchu, Darwin Baca León, in coordination with the Ministries of Foreign Trade and Tourism, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Culture (DDC) and the District Municipality of Machu Picchu.
In a speech on Sunday, Pope Francis called for peace in Peru.
“We pray for peace in Peru, for the violence in the country to stop and for the path of dialogue to overcome the political and social crisis plaguing the population.”