Small Tourist Plane Crashes in Peru, Killing 13

A small plane carrying tourists has crashed in Peru, killing all 13 people on board, according to local news reports and Peruvian officials.

The aircraft had been flying over Nazca Lines archaeological site when it went down on Saturday. Eleven passengers and two pilots were on board.

The cause of the crash and the identity of the passengers is not yet clear.

Nazca Lines is a popular tourist attraction and UNESCO World Heritage site in southern Peru that features ancient drawings in desert sand.

"Given the severity of the accident, there are no survivors. We have recovered four bodies so far," Police Major Jorge Andrade said, according to AFP.

The crash happened around 13:00 local time (19:00 BST) in the Pueblo Viejo region after the plane departed from an airport in Pisco, Peru.

Italian tourists are believed to be among the victims, said William Acosta, an inspector at the Civil Aviation Directorate General, according to the Reuters news agency.

Video from Reuters shows firefighters spraying water at the scene as smoke rises from the wreckage.

In a statement in Spanish posted online by the Municipalidad Provincial de Nasca, officials expressed "deep sorrow" for the accident and extended "heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased".

The statement said the plane belonged to local Peruvian airline Aerodiana.

The BBC has contacted the airline for comment.

This isn't the first plane to crash over the famed site in the last few decades.

In 2022, another small tourist plane crashed during a flight over the Nazca Lines site, killing seven on board.

And in 2010, a tourist plane went down over the site, killing six people on board.