Police say 13 killed as small plane viewing Nazca Lines in Peru crashes

At least 13 people have been killed in a small plane that crashed in Peru, according to police.

The crash on Saturday came as the plane was carrying passengers, described by authorities as mostly tourists, to view the famous Nazca Lines, a series of archeological sites comprised of monumental geoglyphs carved into the soil.

“We have information that 11 passengers and two crew members have died,” Police Major Jorge Andrade told reporters from the crash site in the country’s south.

Local media reports indicate that the crash site was quickly engulfed in flames, preventing any rescues. The plane reportedly departed from Pisco, in the department of Ica. Further details were not immediately available.

Peru is a major tourist destination, with visitors regularly travelling to visit the country’s historical sites, like the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu or the giant Indigenous stone walls of Cusco.

More than 4.1 million tourists visited the country of just under 35 million in 2025, according to Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism.

The Nazca Lines are located in the desert near the country’s southern coastal regions, along the Andean mountain range.

They date back to between 500BC and 500AD, and have been designated as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in recognition of their value to global culture.

UNESCO describes the site as “among archaeology’s greatest enigmas because of their quantity, nature, size and continuity”.

“The geoglyphs depict living creatures, stylised plants and imaginary beings, as well as geometric figures several kilometres long,” according to UNESCO. “They are believed to have had ritual astronomical functions.”

Because of their enormous scale, the Nazca lines are often viewed from the air, where the drawings of animals like monkeys, hummingbirds and cats can be seen more clearly.

Saturday’s crash involved a plane from the fleet of the Peruvian sightseeing company Aerodiana, according to reports.