AT LEAST one person has died after two packed tourist trains were involved in a terrifying head-on crash near Machu Picchu.
A train driver has been named as the victim with dozens of passengers seriously injured in the deadly collision.
Two trains smashed into one another as both were travelling at speed on a single track, according to a statement from the local government.
At least 40 people were left injured with up to 20 rushed to hospital with serious injuries, a local health official said.
Railway worker, Jhonathan Castillo Gonzalez, was identified as the sole victim, a police captain in the nearby city of Cuzco said.
Harrowing images show how many passengers had to be pulled from the mangled wreck of the trains through shattered windows.
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Footage showed how the trains were left trapped on a thin set of tracks between a forest and a rock wall.
Debris was left strewn across the railway line as police cordoned off the area to complete their investigations.
Hundreds of tourists were left stranded after the crash wiped out the line while recovery efforts got underway, reports local outlet Peru21.
One of the trains was on route to Peru‘s most popular tourist attractions in the ancient Inca town of Machu Picchu in Peru.
The other is believed to have been returning back to Ollantaytambo Station.
The trains involved were operated by PeruRail and Inca Rail.
PeruRail released a statement after the fatal crash announcing: “We deeply regret what has happened.”
They added that staff “immediately” gave first aid to the train driver, a conductor and the passengers on board.
Officials are yet to say what caused the crash.
Machu Picchu is among South America’s most popular tourist hotspots due to it being one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World.
It is located in the south of the coastal nation but is notoriously difficult to reach.
Visitors can either take on a challenging hike along the Inca trail alongside a tour guide or take a series of trains and buses to reach the historic site.
Transport is often expensive due to the high demand in tourists – around 1.5 million each year – wanting to visit the small city.
It comes as at least 37 people died and another 24 were injured after a horror bus crash last month also in Peru.
The vehicle plunged nearly 700ft down an enormous ravine near Ocona in the country’s southern region of Arequipa.
In October, 17 people died in a horrifying bus crash in Brazil.
That accident happened at night-time in the north-east Brazilian state of Pernambuco.
Police told local media the bus, which was carrying more than 30 passengers, drove towards oncoming traffic and hit rocks by the side of the road.
