Lima.- Thirteen people, including 11 tourists, died this Saturday in southern Peru when the light aircraft in which they were flying over the Nazca Lines, one of the main tourist attractions in the Ica region, crashed, one day after a sandstorm in the area.
The provincial municipality of Nazca confirmed in a statement that the crashed aircraft departed from the city of Pisco to fly over the enormous geoglyphs located in the desert of that jurisdiction.
The municipality expressed its deep regret for the accident involving the company Aerodiana in the Pueblo Viejo area, which left 13 dead (eleven tourists and two pilots).
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So far, the identity of the passengers is unknown and the police remain in the area, having cordoned off the site where the aircraft crashed and caught fire, awaiting the prosecutor on duty and aeronautical authorities.
The statement added that the investigation of the accident and the supervision of aeronautical operations correspond to the competent authorities, who will determine the causes and responsibilities in accordance with the law.
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He added that, since the emergency became known, the provincial municipality of Nazca provided the corresponding support in the care and response efforts.
A spokesperson for the National Police confirmed to the media, at the scene of the accident, that the victims are 11 passengers, the pilot, and a co-pilot or guide, who departed from the Pisco air terminal and headed, after local noon, to fly over the Nazca Lines.
The aircraft had apparently completed the flyover and was approaching the Nazca airport when it lost communication with the control tower and another small plane located in the same radius witnessed the accident, according to what tour guide Juan Valdivia, who also works in Nazca, told Efe.
This accident occurs one day after the Ica region suffered an increase in the speed of the famous Paracas winds to a moderate intensity, which was measured by the National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology (Senamhi) at 50 kilometers per hour in the city of Pisco.
