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MACHU PICCHU: Peru has evacuated around 1,600 tourists from a train station that serves the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu after a local protest escalated into clashes with police.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, the ancient fortified complex receives around 4,500 visitors a day, many of them foreigners, according to the tourism ministry.
Visitors travel some 110 kilometers (68 miles) by train from the city of Cusco — the Inca empire’s ancient capital — to the Aguas Calientes train station, then take a bus to the entrance of Machu Picchu.
Residents placed logs and rocks on the tracks Monday to demand that their interests be represented in the bidding process for the new bus operator, after the previous firm’s 30-year concession expired.
Authorities on Tuesday evening evacuated 156 visitors, adding to the approximately 1,400 that were brought out before.
A police statement said 14 officers were injured in clashes with protesters during Monday night’s temporary unblocking of the tracks.
Tourism Minister Desilu Leon said earlier Tuesday that around 1,400 tourists had been evacuated while another 900 were stranded.
Later in the day, Oscar Luque — representative of the Ombudsman in Cusco — told AFP that evacuations had resumed and protests paused until Wednesday morning.
“Right now, I’m on a train with all the tourists who were stranded at Machu Picchu,” he said.

- Architectural marvel -

Among the foreign tourists were French, Japanese, American, Polish, Brazilian, German, and Portuguese nationals, according to the list seen by AFP.
Luque said that any other stranded tourists will be moved by Wednesday morning, adding some had chosen to remain at the site.
The protest is organized by the Machu Picchu Defense Front, which announced in a Sunday statement that it would continue its action indefinitely until the new transport company started operations.
It argued that the new bus operator should be owned by one of the communities involved in the protest.
Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century at an altitude of 2,500 meters (about 8,200 feet) on orders from the Inca ruler Pachacutec.
It is considered a marvel of architecture and engineering, but has repeatedly been the scene of protests by locals pressing social demands.
Tourism is key to the economy of Peru.

SEOUL: The leader of the Unification Church, Han Hak-ja, appeared for questioning by prosecutors on Wednesday over alleged involvement in bribing the wife of ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol as part of a criminal probe into the former first couple.
Han declined to answer questions from reporters about the allegations as she arrived at the office of the special prosecutor.
“I’ve been unwell,” she said, when asked why she had chosen to respond to questioning, after refusing earlier summons.
Han, who is called “True Mother” by followers, is the widow of Unification Church founder Moon Sun-myung, who died in 2012.
Han was assisted by aides as she stepped out of the car and walked slowly through a throng of reporters and security.
A church official shouted “Mother, hang in there,” as Han made her way inside the prosecutors’ office.
An ambulance arranged by Han was on standby while she was interrogated, according to the special prosecutor’s team.
The special prosecutor has indicted former First Lady Kim Keon Hee for bribery and other charges in a widening probe into several charges of wrongdoing by her before and during Yoon’s presidency. Kim has been imprisoned as part of the probe.
Han has been accused of instructing the religious group to bribe the former first lady and Kweon Seong-dong, a veteran lawmaker and close confidante of Yoon. Han has denied the allegations.
Kweon from the conservative People Power Party was detained on Wednesday over concerns he could destroy evidence, prosecutors said. Kweon has denied that he took bribes from the church.
Kim Hyong Kun, deputy special prosecutor, told reporters on Wednesday that Han did not exercise her right to remain silent and answered questions well related to allegations of violating political funding and anti-graft laws.
The prosecutors were not currently considering issuing an arrest warrant for Han, since she had come in for questioning, Kim said.
Yoon, who is also in detention, is on trial over insurrection charges levelled against him by a separate special prosecutor related to his botched bid to declare martial law.
Kim is accused of receiving bribes worth 80 million won ($57,958) that include two Chanel bags and a diamond necklace from an official at the Unification Church in return for using her influence to help the church’s business interests.
Kim’s lawyers have denied the allegations against her, including over her receiving gifts.
Han has called the allegations against her “false information.”
The official from the church that prosecutors say was behind the bribery has been arrested and indicted on charges including violating anti-graft laws.
The Unification Church, formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, said previously it was “deeply regrettable” that it failed to prevent the misconduct of a former senior official, but denied any involvement in the case.