Kathmandu – Thirteen people were killed on Saturday when a sightseeing aircraft carrying European tourists crashed near the city of Nazca in Peru, local authorities said.
According to the Nazca municipality, the aircraft had departed from the nearby city of Ica and was conducting a sightseeing flight over the world-famous Nazca Lines.
The plane was operated by Peruvian aviation company Aerodiana, which said it had been offering sightseeing flights over the Nazca Lines using Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft for the past 14 years.
The Nazca Lines are a collection of enormous geoglyphs created in the desert by Peru’s ancient inhabitants. Featuring figures of animals and other shapes, the designs can be clearly viewed only from the air or from designated observation towers.
Peru’s Ministry of Transport said the victims included seven Italian nationals aged between 18 and 54, two Spanish citizens aged 52, and two German nationals aged 77 and 78.
Pilot Américo Salazar and co-pilot Irenka Guanilo del Carpio were also killed in the crash, the ministry said.
President Keiko Fujimori expressed sorrow over the tragedy and said a decision on temporarily suspending operations at Nazca Airport would be made after reviewing reports from the relevant ministries.
Peruvian authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash. Aerodiana had not issued an immediate public response regarding the incident.
