Hundreds of tourists have had to be turned away from Machu Picchu after Peru’s famed Inca ruins reached capacity.

THE Department of Foreign Affairs was last night providing consular assistance to nine Irish tourists who were among 2,000 people stranded by mudslides in the Machu Picchu region of Peru where a state of emergency has been declared.

A mudslide on the famed Inca trail to Machu Picchu killed an Argentinian tourist and a Peruvian guide, as authorities evacuated hundreds of tourists by helicopter from a flood zone where more than 1,500 others were still stranded.

About 1,400 tourists and local residents were stranded near Peru’s famed Inca ruins of Machu Picchu today after an overnight landslide knocked out 440 yards of train track, blocking a primary route into the area, authorities said.

A landslide hit the tourist town below Peru’s famed Inca citadel of Machu Picchu early today, leaving 11 people missing and feared dead and blocking the only route into the town, President Alejandro Toledo said.