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Tourists face trial, deportation over Machu Picchu damage

16 Jan 2020 13:43:08

thejakartapost.com

One tourist is facing trial and five others will be deported after being accused of damaging Peru's cultural heritage and reportedly defecating in a sacred temple at the iconic Machu Picchu sanctuary, Peruvian police said on Tuesday.


The six were arrested by police on Sunday after being found by park rangers in a restricted area of the Temple of the Sun, an important site at the Inca sanctuary.


Authorities said the four men and two women had damaged the 600-year-old temple and defecated on the site, which lies in the southern Cusco region.


Argentine Nahuel Gomez, who will be tried in court, has allegedly admitted to attempting to remove a stone that fell to the ground and chipped, also causing a crack in the floor.


All six, aged between 20 and 32, are accused of "damaging cultural heritage," regional police chief Victor Andres Patino told reporters on Tuesday.


Several parts of the semicircular Temple of the Sun are off limits to tourists for preservation reasons.


Read full story: thejakartapost.com

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