DOZENS of tourists have been injured after a bus carrying them back from Machu Picchu plunged down a steep bank.
The bus fell 50 feet after the driver lost control of the motor while he negotiated the narrow mountain road in the foggy Andes.
X/gamavisionmxThe bus plunged around 50 feet down a steep bank[/caption]
x/gamavisionmxTourists were still on the bus as the locals desperately held it up[/caption]
AFPAn injured tourist being carried by locals after the crash[/caption]
APMachu Picchu in Peru[/caption]
The group were returning from the Inca World Wonder to the town of Aguas Calientes.
Several of the 30 victims suffered broken bones in the horror smash.
Footage from the scene showed the crushed front of the bus face-down on the tarmac, with the body propped up against the steep mountain.
Locals can be seen desperately using their bodies to stabilise the bus and prevent it toppling over and falling even further down the mountain.
Some tourists remain on board, caught in the nightmare situation.
It was not immediately clear if there were any British injuries, with most tourists from Italy and South and Central America, local media says.
The crash happened just before midday local time yesterday.
The most seriously-injured tourists were taken to a nearby health centre for initial treatment before being evacuated by train to the city of Cusco.
An investigation into the incident is now underway.
Local reports said foggy conditions at the time of the crash had made driving difficult.
Last year, a British tourist was killed and 30 others were injured after a bus fell down a cliff and rolled several times.
In 2022, four tourists were killed and another 15 were injured after a minibus plunged 330 feet down a cliff returning from Machu Picchu.
Locals said foggy conditions also contributed to that crash.
That bus was also returning from the Mountain of Seven Colours – a tourist site not to far from the Inca citadel.
Machu Picchu, the jewel of the Peruvian tourism industry, was built in the 15th century as a religious sanctuary of the Incas and is located in the Amazon of southeastern Peru at nearly 8000ft altitude.
Accidents are common in Peru where speeding, poor road surfaces, and a lack of road signs contribute.
AFPTourists were taken to nearby health centres for treatment[/caption]
AFPDozens of people were injured in the crash[/caption]
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