German tourist falls to his death posing for a mid-leap photo at Machu Picchu

It took rescuers one and a half hours to reach his body

(File Photo) The tourist was posing for the photo in an off-limits area when he fell (Reuters)

A German tourist fell to his death after posing for a photograph at the Machu Picchu ruins in Peru.

Oliver Park, 51, jumped for a mid-leap photograph but lost his footing and slipped from a ledge.

Peruvian officials said Mr Park had bypassed a security cordon and entered an off-limits area for his photograph, according to El Comercio.

Peruvian tourist Guillermo Mestas, who witnessed the incident, told Canal N: "He asked a man who was there to take a photo of him

"The man came over to take the photo and in the moment he was handing him the camera, he lost his balance and fell."

It took rescuers one and a half hours to reach his body which was then transported by train to a morgue in Cusco.

While this may be the first photograph-related death at Machu Picchu, there have been other accidental deaths in recent times.

In May 2014, a Belgian man died climbing Huayna Picchu, a steep mountain overlooking the 1450 Incan palace.

In February 2013, a rock fell on a German couple visiting the ruins. Heize Beat, 49 fell down a slope to his death while his girlfriend, Hein Achira, 46, was injured but survived.