Thirteen people died on Saturday in the crash of a tourist plane visiting the Nazca region in southern Peru, according to the country’s tourism ministry.
It is not yet known what caused the crash. Flights from the coastal region where the tours originate had been suspended on Friday because of strong winds and limited visibility, but resumed on Saturday before the accident. The Nazca region draws tourists hoping to see the large ancient formations drawn into the earth and visible from the sky known as the Nazca Lines.
The small plane, carrying a pilot, co-pilot and 11 passengers, had taken off from the costal city of Pisco bound southeast to the Nazca Lines, according to the state-owned broadcast station TV Peru. All on board were killed when the plane went down and burst into flames. Information about the tourists’ nationalities was unconfirmed.
Aerodiana, the local company whose plane was involved in the accident, issued a statement expressing condolences to the families of the crash victims and said it would evaluate the programming of its trips. According to its website, the company operates from the Captain Renán Elías Olivera Airport in Pisco and has a three-aircraft fleet of Cessna Grand Caravans, which can seat up to 14 passengers. Flights over the Nazca Lines appear to be its main business.
The Nazca Lines, ancient enormous designs etched in the desert by a pre-Inca civilization, are best appreciated from overhead because of their size and scale. Flying over them is a popular tourist activity in the region, about a seven-hour drive south from the capital, Lima. The sightseeing flights typically take about an hour and a half.
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