Peruvian glacier triggers Andes tsunami

A huge glacier has broken off and plunged into a lake in Peru, triggering a 23-metre tsunami.

The wave swept at least three people away and destroyed a water processing plant serving 60,000 residents in and around the town of Carhuaz.

The ice block tumbled into a lake in the Andes 200 miles north of the capital Lima.

Investigators said the chunk of ice from the Hualcan glacier measured 500 metres by 200 metres.

The breakage is one of the most concrete signs yet that glaciers are disappearing in Peru, which is home to 70 per cent of the world's tropical icefields.

Scientists say warmer temperatures will cause them to melt away altogether within 20 years.