Five of the six tourists in Machu Picchu accused of damaging stonewall and defecating inside the holy Temple of the Sun will be deported whilst the remaining one will be prosecuted, Peruvian police said Tuesday.

"The six tourists are being detained and investigated by the public ministry for the alleged crime against cultural heritage," Wilbert Leyva, Cusco regional police chief, told a local news agency Andina Monday.

They were arrested Sunday after the police and park rangers spotted them inside a restricted area of the sacred Temple of the Sun. Such offenses can attract up to four years in prison. Despite this, the officials decided to deport them, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The six tourists, who are from Chile, Brazil, France and Argentina, entered the ruins and caused a rock from a wall of the Temple of Sun to break loose, thereby cracking the floor. Furthermore, one of the foreigners was thought to have defecated inside the remnants of Incan city, ABC reported.

Police are set to press charges against an Argentine man for "destroying Peru's cultural heritage."

The Temple of the Sun is restricted to tourists in order to preserve its uniqueness. However, an increasing number of tourists in recent years have raised concerns about the site's wellbeing.

Machu Picchu, the semi-circular sacred citadel located in Southern Peru, was built by the Incas in the 15th century for giving offerings to the Sun. The site is a souvenir to Incan life and culture, and is often mistakenly referred to as "Lost City of the Incas." It is the top tourist destination in Peru and is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Around 1.5 million tourists a year visit the old Inca sanctuary of Machu Picchu in the Andes, the most iconic site in Peru
Around 1.5 million tourists a year visit the old Inca sanctuary of Machu Picchu in the Andes, the most iconic site in Peru AFP / Cris BOURONCLE
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