Mudslide kills tourist, guide on trail to Peru’s Machu Picchu; 1500 stranded

A mudslide on the famed Inca trail to Machu Picchu has killed an Argentine tourist and a Peruvian guide, as authorities evacuated hundreds of tourists by helicopter from a flood zone where more than 1,500 others were still stranded.

Cuzco government spokesman Hernet Moscoso said the 23-year-old Argentine and the guide were in their tents when a slope gave way and their tents were crushed Tuesday. Three other tourists were injured.

The deaths raised to five the number of people killed in heavy rains.

An official said that of the 2,000 stranded tourists in the villages of Machu Picchu Pueblo and Aguas Calientes near the citadel, government and private helicopters managed to fly 475 to safety Tuesday.

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