All 13 people aboard a small plane operated by Aerodiana died after the aircraft crashed and caught fire Saturday afternoon on agricultural land in the Palo Viejo area of Nasca province, in Peru’s Ica region, while conducting a tourist flight over the Nazca Lines.
The plane was carrying 11 foreign tourists and two crew members. There were no survivors.
The Vista Alegre District Municipality said the aircraft had departed from Pisco airport, not from the Maria Reiche Neuman airport in Nasca as some earlier reports had indicated.
Aerodiana offers condolences
Aerodiana said in a statement that it deeply regretted the accident, which occurred during a tourist overflight of the Nazca Lines area. The company extended its sincere condolences and solidarity to the families and loved ones of those killed, and said it was cooperating fully with authorities and providing all information needed for the investigation.
The company also said it would evaluate its flight schedule in accordance with the directives of relevant authorities.
Government response
Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism said the aircraft had departed from the CAP FAP Renan Elias Olivera airport bound for the Nazca Lines zone. The ministry expressed deep sorrow over the deaths and said it had activated tourist protection protocols, was coordinating with relevant authorities, and would support the embassies of the countries from which the foreign tourists had come.
The ministry said staff from its IPERU tourism assistance service were on the ground at the accident site, with a ministry team also dispatched to the area to monitor the situation and coordinate further action.
The Nasca Provincial Municipality said it had deployed its relevant departments to support emergency response efforts as soon as the accident was reported.
