A tourist plane crashed in southern Peru near the Nazca Lines on Saturday, killing all 13 people on board, including 11 foreign tourists. The Cessna Grand Caravan went down in a field in Pueblo Viejo, about 6 kilometers from the city of Nazca and roughly 12 kilometers from the famed geoglyphs site, according to local authorities.
Fatalities and Victims
Police Major Jorge Andrade confirmed the death toll at the crash site, stating, "We have information that 11 passengers and two crew members have died. Given the severity of the accident, there are no survivors. We have recovered four bodies so far." The victims included seven Italians, two Germans believed to be a couple, and two Spanish nationals. The pilot and co-pilot were identified as Americo Salazar Cuellar and Irenka Del Carpio.
Crash Timeline and Investigation
The aircraft departed from the nearby city of Pisco at approximately 1:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. BST) for a scenic flight over the Nazca Lines. Minutes later, it lost contact with the control tower and crashed at 1:20 p.m. The cause of the crash remains unknown, and local authorities have launched a full investigation. Video footage from the scene showed firefighters and police working amid the smoldering wreckage in the desert, with bodies visible on the sand.
History of Accidents at the Site
This deadly crash is not an isolated incident at the UNESCO World Heritage site, which attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists annually. Several operators compete to offer overflights of the ancient lines, dating from AD 200-700, amid serious concerns about aircraft safety and maintenance. In 2022, a small plane crash killed seven people, including two Chileans and three Dutch nationals. In October 2010, four British tourists and two Peruvian crew members died when an AirNasca plane crashed after flying over the lines. Earlier that year, three Chileans and four Peruvians perished in a Cessna 206 crash. In April 2008, five French tourists were killed, though the pilot survived.
Official Response
The municipality of Nazca issued a statement on Saturday, saying, "The investigation of the accident and the oversight of aviation operations are the responsibility of the competent authorities, who will determine the causes and assign liability in accordance with the law." Peru's tourism ministry expressed "deep sorrow over the tragic deaths of tourists and crew members" in a separate statement. The Nazca Lines, which include vast figures of a hummingbird, monkey, and whale, are only fully visible from the air, making overflights essential for visitors.
