Tourists killed in Peru plane crash near Nazca Lines

A small plane carrying foreign tourists to view Peru's famed Nazca Lines archaeological site crashed Saturday, killing all 13 people on board, police confirmed. The aircraft, a Cessna 208 Caravan, took off from the airport in Pisco, located about 240 kilometers south of the capital Lima.

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We have information that 11 passengers and two crew members have died.

Among the deceased were seven Italians, two Germans, and two Spaniards, along with the two crew members. Police Major Jorge Andrade stated at the crash site that there were no survivors, and four bodies had been recovered. The cause of the crash remains undetermined, though preliminary information from municipal officials in Vista Alegre, where the plane went down, indicated an "in-flight emergency."

Peru's civil aviation authority and the air accident agency will lead the investigation into the incident. Firefighters and police were observed working amid the twisted, smoldering wreckage of the aircraft. The Nazca Lines, a UNESCO World Heritage site, are geoglyphs etched into the desert sands dating back to between 500 BC and 500 AD, best viewed from the air.

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Given the severity of the accident, there are no survivors. We have recovered four bodies so far.

This is not the first fatal incident involving aircraft touring the Nazca Lines. In 2022, seven people died in a similar crash, and in October 2010, six people, including four British tourists, were killed when an AirNasca plane crashed.

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Preliminary information indicated an "in-flight emergency" was to blame, without offering more details.