Peru wildfire threatens Machu Picchu as remote location hampers efforts to control blaze

Twenty hectares near Inca ruins affected in blaze started by farmers burning grass before sowing crops

Peruvian firefighters were fighting to contain a forest fire near the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu as the blaze threatened to close in on the ancient city in the Andean mountains on Thursday.

The fire, which had engulfed an area about half the size of Vatican City, was started on Tuesday by farmers burning grass and debris to prepare to sow crops.