Australian tourist killed on Inca Trail

An Australian tourist died this week after falling from a mountain path on Peru’s Inca Trail while trekking toward Machu Picchu, according to Peruvian authorities and Australian media. Local police identified him as Matthew Paton, a 52-year-old Victoria Police sergeant. The fall happened on Wednesday, May 22, local time, in a steep section of the route near the final approach to the Inca citadel. Rescue teams recovered his body on Thursday after searching difficult terrain, reports said. ### Who was the tourist who died on the trail? Matthew Paton was a sergeant with Victoria Police in Australia, ABC reported, citing officials and family statements. Victoria Police told media outlets that Paton’s body was found on Thursday evening local time. His family said they were “shattered” by his death and described him as a career military man, accountant, black belt in karate and educator. (abc.net.au) Victoria Police said Paton had been traveling in Peru with his wife. Australian outlets reported that relatives were making arrangements to travel to Peru after the accident. ### Where on the Inca Trail did the fall happen? Peruvian police told ABC the accident happened near Inti Punku, or the Sun Gate, one of the last major points on the classic Inca Trail before Machu Picchu. (abc.net.au) The specific area was described by authorities as close to the “50 Steps” section, a steep stretch of large and uneven stone steps. Local authorities said the terrain was difficult to access, which complicated the recovery. ABC reported that Paton was believed to have fallen as much as 400 meters down a slope. Other media reports, also citing local officials, described the fall as several hundred meters into a ravine. ### How did Peruvian authorities say the accident happened? (abc.net.au) Peruvian police told ABC that Paton was walking with a group of tourists at about 2 p.m. local time when he tripped and fell through a damaged security barrier. Peru’s Ministry of Culture said in a statement, cited by ABC, that the visitor had fallen from a cliff in an area near the sector known as “50 Steps.” (abc.net.au) CNN reported that the tourist died after falling into a ravine while hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. The account matched Australian reporting that the incident happened during a guided trek on the route to the UNESCO World Heritage site. ### How was the search and recovery carried out? Lieutenant Abel Bejarano Cuyotupac, the police commissioner of Machu Picchu, issued a missing-person alert after Paton was reported missing on Wednesday, ABC said. (abc.net.au) High-altitude rescue personnel were then sent to the area. Rescuers found Paton’s body on Thursday and brought it to Aguas Calientes, the town below Machu Picchu known locally as Machu Picchu pueblo, ABC reported. (cnn.com) Media reports said the search involved Peru’s High Mountain Rescue Unit based in Cusco. ### What happens next in Peru and Australia? Authorities in Peru had contacted the Australian Embassy and were preparing to transport Paton’s body to Cusco, ABC reported. (abc.net.au) That city is the main administrative hub for the Machu Picchu region and the usual point for consular and forensic procedures in cases involving foreign visitors. Victoria Police and Paton’s family were continuing arrangements after the recovery, according to Australian media reports published on May 22 and May 23. Peruvian authorities had not, in the reports reviewed, announced any broader closure of the Inca Trail following the fatal accident. (abc.net.au)