Snowstorm leaves 12,000 families stranded in Peru

Lima, Aug 27: Around 12,000 families have been left stranded after a two-day snowstorm cut off access to a high-altitude area in southern Peru, officials said on Monday.

Carabaya, a remote indigenous province some 1,550 km southeast of here, has been completely cut off after snow and ice blocked highways connecting the region with the outside world, Xinhua reported, citing a Peruvian official who on Monday urged the central government to provide support to the community.

Ronald Gutierrez, mayor of Carabaya province, called on the central government to send basic goods, including food, coats and medicine, saying children and the elderly were suffering the most from the frigid temperatures.

"We urgently need a helicopter to bring us the aid," Gutierrez said.

Peru's high-altitude communities, such as Carabaya, are struggling through a harsh winter season that has seen several deaths due to respiratory ailments and economic damage to local crops and animal stocks.

IANS