Tourists stranded at Machu Picchu amid violent protests
Tourists have been left stranded at Machu Picchu amid violent protests in Peru.
Thousands are reportedly trapped at the popular tourist hot spot in Cusco, with rail services suspended.
Watch Aussie tourists open up about their predicament here:
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Darwin Baca, Machu Picchu's mayor, said they were attempting to arrange helicopter flights to evacuate tourists, and the Municipal District of Machu Picchu indicated that evacuations would commence today (Saturday 17 December).
According to CNN, a statement read: "The municipality, through the Tourism Unit, carries out the necessary coordination for the selection and prioritization of children and vulnerable people for the transfer on humanitarian flights, work that has been carried out in coordination with the National Police and the district Health Center."
The anti-government protests began following the ousting of President Pedro Castillo, and Peru's new president Dina Boluarte pleaded for calm as demonstrations against her and the Congress that ousted Castillo continued.
The former president is set to be jailed for 18 months while authorities build a rebellion and conspiracy case against him. He could be jailed for up to 10 years if found guilty.
He was ousted on 7 December when he sought to dissolve Congress ahead of their third attempt to impeach him.
His vehicle was intercepted as he travelled through Lima's streets with his security detail, and prosecutors have accused him of trying to seek political asylum at Mexico's embassy.
Protesters have blocked streets in Peru's capital and many rural communities, demanding Castillo's freedom, Boluarte's resignation and the immediate scheduling of general elections to pick a new president and replace all members of Congress.
At least 18 people have been killed in clashes between demonstrators and security forces, according to Sky News, and Boluarte has called for calm, indicating that a general election could take place in a year.
"Peru cannot overflow with blood," she said.
"The only thing I can tell you sisters and brothers [is] to keep calm.
"We have already lived through this experience in the 80s and 90s, and I believe that we do not want to return to that painful history."
Castillo's former running mate, installed by Congress to replace him, was recalling the disastrous years between 1980 and 2000 when the Shining Path insurgency presided over numerous car bombings and assassinations.
The group was blamed for more than half of the nearly 70,000 estimated deaths and disappearances caused by various rebel groups and a brutal government counterinsurgency response.
On Wednesday, the country's new government declared a 30-day national emergency, suspending the rights of people to gather and move freely across the Andean nation.
"The National Police with the support of the Armed Forces will ensure the control throughout the national territory of personal property and, above all, strategic infrastructure and the safety and well-being of all Peruvians," Defense Minister Luis Otarola Penaranda announced.
Topics: World News, Travel, Politics
Jake Massey