Plane carrying European tourists crashes in Peru, killing 13

BOGOTA, Colombia — A plane carrying European tourists to view the famed Nazca Lines crashed into a field Saturday outside the Peruvian city of Nazca, killing 13 people, local authorities said.

Nazca’s municipal government said the plane departed from the nearby city of Ica and was operated by Peruvian company Aerodiana. On its website, the airline said it has offered scenic flights over the Nazca Lines for the last 14 years using Cessna Grand Caravan planes.

The Nazca Lines are a group of extensive geoglyphs scraped into the desert around Nazca centuries ago by Peru’s Indigenous inhabitants. The lines form images of animals that can be fully appreciated only from planes or viewing towers.

Among the dead were seven Italian citizens ages 18 to 54, two Spaniards, both 53, and two Germans, 77 and 78, Peru’s Transportation Ministry said. Pilot Américo Salazar and co-pilot Irenka Guanilo del Carpio were also killed, the ministry said in a report on the crash.

President Keiko Fujimori expressed regret over the accident and said a “temporary suspension” of the airport was being considered, though the decision will be made once she receives reports from the relevant ministries.

Peruvian authorities said the accident is under investigation. Aerodiana was not immediately available for comment.