By REUTERS
 
IMA, Peru, April 10 (Reuters) — Eleven people were missing on Saturday after heavy rains and mudslides near the Machu Picchu Inca ruins, the authorities said, and 1,500 tourists remained stranded.

Unusually heavy rains that began on Friday caused one river to flood its banks. The ensuing mudslides washed away houses in Machu Picchu Pueblo, the starting point for the 500,000 tourists who visit the Inca citadel every year and home to about 4,000 people. "One of the mudslides took six houses with it and damaged another 20," said Carlos Cuaresma, the president of the Cuzco region.