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A train station is closed after rains affected rail travel near the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Cuzco - Source: Reuters -
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Two New Zealand couples trapped in Peru after destructive flooding have been evacuated.
However, at least 29 New Zealanders remain stranded by flash floods and mudslides , which knocked out roads, railways and bridges leading to the ancient Incan capital Machu Picchu, killing several and trapping about 2000 tourists.
Travellers are being helicoptered out of the area.
Christchurch couples Mike and Sheryl Chisholm and Neil and Glenda Weston were among the last flown out of the area on Thursday.
Mr Chisholm said a policeman selected the couples, aged over 50, for evacuation after they pushed their passports under his nose.
The army is controlling the evacuation.
"Still, as the day ended there was pushing, shoving and shouting as people got more desperate and emotional," he told the Press from Cusco in southeastern Peru.
"I didn't think we would be able to get out as the light was fading after waiting 10 hours."
The couples were "relieved and happy", but felt for the hundreds of tourists left stranded, Mr Chisholm said.
"Flying out on the helicopter, you can see some of the damage to crops, land and houses, so we really feel for the local people who have suffered this devastation."
Aucklander Ashton Lines-Sherwood, who said he had been stuck in Aguas Calientes - the closest access point to Machu Picchu - for six days was critical of rescue efforts.
"The newspapers and news around South America are saying that they Peruvian authorities are providing 11 helicopters to get us out of here in two days - this is bulls**t. We have been stuck here for six days, the last two days have seen three helicopters," he told The New Zealand Herald.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) said about 700-800 people were evacuated on Thursday and the same is expected today - weather depending.
The trapped New Zealanders, who are in or near the tourist areas of Machu Picchu and the village of Aguas Calientes, are awaiting evacuation but have told friends, family or MFAT they are safe.
MFAT is continuing attempts to establish and maintain contact with them.
MFAT is advising anyone travelling to Peru to register their details with the ministry.
Families with serious concerns about relatives should call (04) 439 8000.
About 2000 people were initially trapped and about 1600 remained trapped on Thursday although the number fluctuates as more travellers trickled into the area each day.
Machu Picchu, a 15th-century Inca fortress located on a high mountain ridge, is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in Latin America, attracting more than 400,000 visitors a year.
The country's civil defence service estimated the homes of 1300 people in poor rural areas - many of them riverside dwellings made of clay and straw - were destroyed, while many others were damaged.
