Tourist plane crashes during flight over Peru’s Nazca Lines, killing 13

A small aircraft crashed during a flight over Peru's Nazca Lines, resulting in the deaths of 13 people, including foreign tourists, according to local authorities. The Cessna Grand Caravan plummeted from the sky near the city of Pisco, approximately 12 kilometers away from the UNESCO World Heritage site. Among the victims were seven Italians, two Germans, and two Spanish individuals.

The plane departed Pisco around 1pm local time (7pm BST) to provide aerial tours of the Nazca Lines, but lost contact with control shortly after takeoff and crashed at 1.20pm local time. Police Major Jorge Andrade confirmed that 11 passengers and two crew members perished in the incident, with only four bodies recovered thus far.

The cause of the crash remains unknown, and an investigation has been launched by local authorities. Over the years, several overflights of the Nazca Lines have ended in disaster, with a total of seven fatalities recorded in crashes between 2010 and 2022. The municipality of Nazca expressed deep sorrow over the tragic loss of life and stated that the authorities would determine the cause of the accident and assign liability accordingly.