Lima: Hundreds of tourists were trapped near the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu as a workers strike against private development entered its second day and paralyzed Cuzco's airport, transportation officials have said.

"We deplore this inconvenience which can interfere with passenger travel and tourism but we think it would be worse to open the airport under these conditions," said Deputy Transportation Minister Carlos Puga yesterday.

The airport at Cuzco, the staging city for travel to the mountain-top citadel, was expected to reopen today, unless the demonstrations continued, Puga said.

The Cuzco regional workers federation called Thursday for workers to block key roads in the city for 48 hours, forcing the shutdown also of rail access to Machu Picchu, Peru s leading tourist attraction.

Around 500 protesters yesterday blocked streets and access roads in Cuzco as part of the demonstrations, called against a new law which would permit private firms to set up shop in the areas close to Peru's archaeological sites.

Protesters branded the law an "affront to the heritage" of the country.

However, some tourists were able Friday to visit Machu Picchu, a 15th century site atop an Andes mountain peak 2,500 meters high and which attracts some 800,000 tourists a year, most of whom travel there by train. The city was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

Source : PTI