13 dead after small tourist plane crashes in Peru

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At least 13 people died when a small plane carrying tourists to view Peru’s famed Nazca Lines archaeological site crashed, police said Saturday.

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“We have information that 11 passengers and two crew members have died,” Police Major Jorge Andrade told reporters from the crash site in the country’s south.

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The incident occurred shortly after 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) after the plane took off from the airport in Pisco, located about 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of the capital Lima.

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“Given the severity of the accident, there are no survivors. We have recovered four bodies so far,” Andrade said, without identifying the victims.

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He also did not give any immediate indication of what may have caused the crash. Peru’s civil aviation authority will investigate the incident.

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Firefighters and police were working at the scene amid the twisted, smoldering wreckage of the aircraft, images posted on Facebook by local news outlets revealed.

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Dozens of small planes operate from the airport in Pisco, handling a large volume of primarily foreign tourists hoping to visit the Nazca Lines.

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The UNESCO World Heritage site features a group of geoglyphs etched into the desert sands that date back to between 500 BC and 500 AD, according to the UN agency.

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Such accidents have occurred before. In 2022, seven people were killed in a plane crash, including two Chileans and three Dutch nationals.

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In October 2010, four British tourists and two Peruvian crew members died when an AirNasca plane crashed after taking the tourists to view the site.

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AFP

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