A total of 13 people, including 11 foreign tourists and two crew members, were killed after a sightseeing plane crashed near Peru’s famous Nazca Lines on Saturday.
Police said the Cessna Grand Caravan crashed in Pueblo Viejo, about 6 kilometres from the city of Nazca and approximately 12 kilometres from the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The victims included seven Italian tourists, two German nationals believed to be a couple, and two Spanish tourists. The two crew members were identified as pilot Americo Salazar Cuellar and co-pilot Irenka Del Carpio.
According to authorities, the aircraft departed Pisco at around 1pm local time for a sightseeing flight over the Nazca Lines before losing contact with air traffic control just minutes later.
The plane crashed at approximately 1.20pm, and police confirmed there were no survivors.
Police Major Jorge Andrade said the impact of the crash was so severe that all 13 people on board were killed.
Emergency responders, including firefighters and police officers, were deployed to the crash site, where they worked among the smouldering wreckage in the desert.
Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the crash, and a formal investigation has been launched.
The tragedy is the latest in a series of fatal aviation accidents involving sightseeing flights over the Nazca Lines, one of Peru’s most popular tourist attractions.
In 2022, another small aircraft crashed in the same area, killing seven people, while previous fatal crashes were also recorded in 2010 and 2008, raising long-standing concerns over the safety standards of aircraft operating tourist flights in the region.
In a statement, the Nazca Municipality said aviation authorities would investigate the incident to determine its cause and establish responsibility where appropriate.
Peru’s Ministry of Tourism also expressed its condolences to the families of the victims, describing the incident as a tragic loss.
The Nazca Lines, famous for their enormous ancient geoglyphs depicting animals such as hummingbirds, monkeys and whales, attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year and are best viewed from the air.
