A German tourist, 51-year-old Oliver Park, died on Wednesday, while
trying to take a picture atop Mount Machu Picchu.The tourist was posing
for a mid-leap photo when he slipped from a ledge on Machu Picchu
mountain and fell approximately 130 feet to his death.
Peruvian officials said the tourist bypassed a a secure area which was off limits and ventured into the area.
A Peruvian tourist Guillermo Mestas told TV station Canal N.:
โHe asked a man who was there to take a photo of himโ. โThe man came
over to take the photo and in the moment he was handing him the camera,
he lost his balance and fell.โ
By the time rescuers reached the tourist about an hour and a half later, the man was dead”
His body was removed from the mountainside and taken by train to a morgue in Cusco on Thursday night, according to Canal N.
The Germanโs death was the latest in a long string of accidents suffered
by tourists as they posed for photographs in scenic locations.
Machu Picchu is a particularly dangerous location for trying to take a
selfie. The site, which is considered sacred by many Peruvians, is
located 8,000 feet above sea level.
Source: Washington Post
