A WEXFORD man has been killed in a crash while on an adventure trip to Peru.
Peter Buckley (25), from Courtnacuddy, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, was taking part in the Mototaxi Junket – a three-wheeled motorbike charity adventure trip from Cuzco to Piura – when he died on Saturday.
Local newspaper reports said the crash happened in the province of Churcampa, on the outskirts of Huancavelica y Ayacucho, southeast of Lima.
They said the motorbike went over a 150m drop into the Mantaro river. The British-based Adventurists company, which organised the venture, said it was “deeply saddened” to announce the death of a participant in the event.
“Our sympathies and thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased at this incredibly difficult time,” the statement added.
The Adventurists website describes the 4,500km bike run, which began on January 1st, as taking place on “indescribably inaccessible terrain”.
Mr Buckley had signed up with his friend, Eamonn O’Leary, from Adamstown, Co Wexford, under the name “Soggy Bottom Boys”. The pair were raising money for the Irish Cancer Society, Cancer Research UK and the development charity Practical Action.
Mr O’Leary was travelling on a different mototaxi at the time.
Mr Buckley, a mechanical engineer, lived and worked in Scotland. The 25-year-old captained his local Davidstown-Courtnacuddy GAA team to a county minor hurling title in 2004 before leaving for Scotland in 2005 to study engineering.
He is survived by his parents Eamonn and Mai, four brothers and four sisters, and his girlfriend, Clare.
Six teams of two Irish people were listed as participants in the event. Members of some of those teams indicated online that they had decided not to continue.
The Adventurists said, however, the event itself would continue “for the safety of the other teams” and to allow participants get to their final destination in Piura or another location of their choosing.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was providing consular assistance to Mr Buckley’s family.