A 51-year-old German tourist Oliver Park, fall to his death on Wednesday, while trying to take a picture on top Mount Machu Picchu.The tourist who 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.:
“He asked a man who was there to take a photo of himâ€. “The man came over to take the photo and in the moment he was handing him the camera, he lost his balance and fell.â€
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 German’s 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
