The victims included seven Italians, two Germans, two Spaniards, and two crew members, according to a transport ministry spokesman. The passengers were aged between 24 and 78.

The Cessna 208 Caravan crashed shortly after 1:00 pm local time (1800 GMT), shortly after taking off from the airport in Pisco, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of the capital Lima. Police Major Jorge Andrade confirmed at the crash site that 11 passengers and two crew members had died. "Given the severity of the accident, there are no survivors. We have recovered four bodies so far," he said, without identifying the victims or providing details about the cause. Overnight, police recovered the charred bodies and placed them in black bags for transport to the regional morgue. Firefighters and police, some wearing face masks, combed through the twisted, smoldering wreckage. One wheel lay near the debris, detached from the plane.

Peru's civil aviation authority and the air accident agency will investigate the crash. President Keiko Fujimori said her government was considering closing the Pisco airport. The plane was operated by AeroDiana, which offers sightseeing trips of 30 minutes to an hour over the Nazca Lines, which are best viewed from the air. The archaeological site features geoglyphs etched into the desert sands dating from 500 BC to 500 AD. The meaning of the geometric shapes and animal outlines remains a mystery, with some believing they served ritual astronomical functions, according to UNESCO, which declared the area a World Heritage Site in 1994. AeroDiana told AFP it would soon release more information about the crash. Municipal officials in Vista Alegre, where the plane crashed, said preliminary information indicated an "in-flight emergency" was to blame, without offering more details. One resident said the plane exploded on impact. Dozens of small planes operate from Pisco airport, handling a large volume of primarily foreign tourists hoping to see the Nazca Lines. Accidents have occurred before near the site. Seven people died in a 2022 crash, including two Chileans and three Dutch nationals. In October 2010, four British tourists and two Peruvian crew members were killed when an AirNasca plane crashed en route to the site. (Bssnews)