A small plane carrying tourists to see Peru‘s famed Nazca Lines archaeological site crashed, killing all 13 people on board, authorities in Nazca province said on Saturday.
“We have information that 11 passengers and two crew members have died,” said Police Major Jorge Andrade at the crash site in southern Peru.
Andrade also said that “given the severity of the accident, there are no survivors,” adding that four bodies have been recovered so far.
Peru’s local news site RPP reported that seven Italians, two Germans and two Spaniards were killed in the accident. There’s no official confirmation about the nationalities of those aboard the plane.
The plane crashed shortly after 1:00 p.m. local time (1800 GMT) after taking off from the airport in the city of Pisco, located about 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of the capital, Lima.
What else do we know about the crash in the Peruvian desert?
RPP reported that the small plane lost contact with the control tower minutes after takeoff.
The crash occurred in the area of Pueblo Viejo, about six kilometers from the city of Nazca and around 12 kilometers from the Nazca Lines site, according to local authorities.
Nazca’s government said the plane was operated by local Peruvian company Aerodiana.
The airline was not immediately available for comment. However, on its website, Aerodiana says it has operated scenic flights over the Nazca lines for the last 14 years.
The reasons behind the plane crash are still unknown. Peruvian authorities said the incident is under investigation.
Tourist planes over Nazca Lines have crashed before too
Stretching across the desert near the city of Nazca, the Nazca Lines are a vast collection of geoglyphs created hundreds of years ago by Peru’s Indigenous inhabitants.
The famous desert geoglyphs, many depicting animals, can only be fully appreciated from the air or elevated viewing platforms.
The latest incident is not the first plane to crash near the site in recent decades.
In 2022, a plane crash killed seven people on board, including two Chileans and three Dutch nationals.
In 2010, another fatal crash killed four British tourists and two Peruvian crew members.
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Edited by: Roshni Majumdar
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