13 killed as tourist plane crashes in Peru
Collected Photo
A tourist plane crashed on the outskirts of the Peruvian city of Nazca on Saturday, killing 13 people, local authorities said.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the Nazca municipal authorities said the aircraft had been carrying tourists on a sightseeing flight over the Nazca Lines. The enormous geoglyphs were created by the Indigenous people of Peru in the Nazca Desert hundreds of years ago. The designs, depicting various animals, can only be fully viewed from the air or from specially built observation towers.
Authorities said the aircraft had taken off from the nearby city of Ica. It was operated by the Peruvian company Aero Diana. On its website, the company says it has been operating sightseeing flights over the Nazca Lines using Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft for the past 14 years.
In a statement, Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism said the crashed aircraft was carrying 11 foreign tourists and two crew members. The state news agency Agencia Andina reported that the tourists included two Germans, two Spaniards, and seven Italians.
Peruvian authorities said the cause of the crash is under investigation. Aero Diana did not immediately comment.
