Australian man dies after falling through a damaged security barrier on Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

By MATT JONES, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 03:56, 22 May 2026 | Updated: 04:19, 22 May 2026 An Australian man has died after he tripped and fell through a damaged security barrier while walking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu with his wife.  Matthew Cameron Patron, 53, was walking in a group of tourists when he plunged up to 400metres about 2pm on Wednesday, local time, the ABC reports.  The area where Mr Patron fell, near the Intipunku entrance to the trail, is understood to be difficult for rescue crews to access. Following extensive efforts, his body was retrieved on Thursday.  Authorities expect to transport his body to the Peruvian capital, Cusco, in the coming hours. Officials said Mr Patron had been travelling with his wife. Cusco Police Command Chief Police General Virgilio Velasquez told local media that Paton tripped while crossing a bridge. 'We have information indicating that he apparently tripped while crossing a wooden bridge, and he likely tried to hold onto the wooden railing, but it gave way and he slipped into the abyss along with it,' General Velasquez said. An Australian man has died after he tripped and fell through a damaged security barrier while walking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu with his wife (rescue crews are pictured) Local authorities say the Australian fell about 400metres Machu Picchu is visited by 1.5million people annually, making it Peru's most visited international tourist destination 'Unfortunately, he fell down the ravine.' Daily Mail contacted the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for comment.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.