Because of the ongoing unrest in Peru, the world heritage site of Machu Picchu, which is popular with tourists from all over the world, has been closed.

The Peruvian Ministry of Culture announced on Saturday in Lima that the closure of the historic Inca site had been ordered "because of the social situation and to protect the integrity of the visitors".

At least 400 people, including 300 foreigners, are stranded in Aguas Calientes at the foot of the mountain with the Inca site.

The EU called for an end to the violence.

Visitors to Aguas Calientes "could not leave because the railroad tracks are damaged in some places," said Tourism Minister Luis Fernando Helguero.

Some tourists have chosen to walk to Piscacucho, which is connected to the road network.

However, this takes "six hours or more and very few people can do it," said the minister.

Almost 50 dead in the protests

During the protests, access to Machu Picchu was repeatedly restricted.

The operation of the nearby airport of Cusco was suspended.

Hundreds of foreign tourists were already stranded around Machu Picchu in mid-December.

Peru has been wracked by unrest since the ouster and arrest of leftist President Pedro Castillo on December 7.

The demonstrators are demanding the resignation of his successor, Dina Boluarte, and the dissolution of parliament in order to hold new elections without delay.

Almost 50 people died in the wave of protests.

A state of emergency has now been declared for almost a third of the Andean country.

Another fatality was reported from the small town of Ilave in the southern Puno region on Saturday.

A man was seriously injured during a protest on Friday and was hospitalized as a result, an official told the AFP news agency.

He succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.

According to hospital reports, ten other people were injured in the clashes between members of the indigenous Aymara people and the police.

The police crackdown on the protests so upset the demonstrators in Ilave that they set fire to a police station on Saturday morning, TV footage showed.

A police station was also set on fire in Zepita, in the Puno region.

Nobody got hurt.

EU calls for “end of violence”

Meanwhile, the EU condemned the ongoing violence in Peru and called on the authorities to find a peaceful solution to the problems quickly.

An EU spokesman regretted the high number of victims since the protests began on Saturday.

"Peaceful social protests that respect the rule of law are legitimate in a democratic society," said an EU statement.

However, the EU condemned "the widespread acts of violence" and "the disproportionate use of force by the security forces".

"The EU calls on the government and all political actors to take urgent measures to restore calm and ensure a full dialogue involving civil society and affected communities (...)," it said.

The EU welcomed the visit of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to Peru.

This had called for an investigation into the suppression of the protests, as there were indications of "excessive use of force".