7 killed in plane crash near Peru’s archaeological site
LIMA: FEB. 5 – Seven people were killed on Friday when their plane crashed near Peru’s famed archaeological site Nazca Lines, local authorities reported.
The plane crashed near the Maria Reiche airfield in the city of Nazca at approximately 12:10 p.m. local time (1710 GMT), shortly after taking off.
“There were no survivors,” the Transport and Communications Ministry said in a statement.
The victims included two crew members and five tourists who, according to local media reports, came from the United States, the Netherlands and Chile, and were returning from a tour of the enigmatic Nazca Lines located about 382 km south of Peru’s capital Lima.
Local firefighters told reporters the aircraft caught fire after it crashed.
Peru’s Aviation Accident Investigation Commission is set to investigate the crash, with the support of the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics.
Nazca is a popular tourist destination featuring gigantic pre-Columbian engravings on sand believed to be between 1,500 and 2,000 years old.
-Xinhua
