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Skip to main content Skip to navigation Close dialogue 1 / 1 Next image Previous image Toggle caption Print subscriptions Search jobs Sign in Eur Europe edition UK edition US edition Australia edition International edition The Guardian - Back to home The Guardian News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle Show more Hide expanded menu News View all News World news UK news Climate crisis Ukraine Environment Science Global development Football Tech Business Obituaries Opinion View all Opinion The Guardian view Columnists Cartoons Opinion videos Letters Sport View all Sport Football Cricket Rugby union Tennis Cycling F1 Golf US sports Culture View all Culture Books Music TV & radio Art & design Film Games Classical Stage Lifestyle View all Lifestyle Fashion Food Recipes Love & sex Health & fitness Home & garden Women Men Family Travel Money Search input google-search Search Support us Print subscriptions Search jobs Holidays Digital Archive Guardian Licensing Live events About Us The Guardian app Video Podcasts Pictures Newsletters Today's paper Inside the Guardian Guardian Weekly Crosswords Wordiply Corrections Tips Search input google-search Search Search jobs Holidays Digital Archive Guardian Licensing Live events About Us World Europe US news Americas Asia Australia Middle East Africa Inequality Global development The Nazca Lines are a group of extensive geoglyphs scraped into the desert in Peru. Photograph: Sebastian Castañeda/Reuters View image in fullscreen The Nazca Lines are a group of extensive geoglyphs scraped into the desert in Peru. Photograph: Sebastian Castañeda/Reuters Peru Tourist plane crashes during flight over Peru’s Nazca Lines, killing 13 Aircraft crashes into field after departing from nearby city of Pisco, according to local authorities Dan Collyns in Lima Sun 2 Aug 2026 00.31 CEST First published on Sat 1 Aug 2026 22.42 CEST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google Police in Peru report that 13 people, among them foreign tourists, have been killed in a plane crash in southern Peru, near the Nazca Lines. Local authorities in Nazca confirmed that 11 tourists and two pilots died when the Cessna Grand Caravan crashed in Pueblo Viejo, approximately 4 miles (6km) from the city of Nazca and roughly 12km from the Nazca Lines site. The passengers were identified as seven Italians, two Germans – believed to be a couple – and two Spanish people. The pilot and copilot were named as Americo Salazar Cuellar and Irenka Del Carpio respectively. The plane had departed the nearby city of Pisco at about 1pm local time (7pm BST) to fly over the Nazca Lines, but minutes later lost contact with the control tower and crashed at 1.20pm, police reported. The cause of the crash is as yet unknown, and the local authorities have launched an investigation. “We have information that 11 passengers and two crew members have died,” Police Major Jorge Andrade told reporters at the crash site. “Given the severity of the accident, there are no survivors. We have recovered four bodies so far,” Andrade added. The Guardian has seen video footage which showed firefighters and police working amid the smouldering wreckage of the plane in the desert. Images appeared to show bodies on the sand. This deadly plane crash is far from the first at the Unesco world heritage site, which attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. Several operators compete to offer overflights of the iconic lines which date to AD200-700, amid serious concerns about the safety and maintenance of the aircraft. In 2022, a small plane crash killed seven people, including two Chileans and three Dutch nationals. In October 2010, four British tourists and two Peruvian crew members were killed when a small plane operated by AirNasca crashed after flying over the lines. Earlier in the same year, three Chileans and four Peruvians died when a Cessna 206 crashed. In April 2008, five French tourists were killed in another crash, but the pilot survived. “The investigation of the accident and the oversight of aviation operations are the responsibility of the competent authorities, who will determine the causes and assign liability in accordance with the law,” the municipality of Nazca said in a statement on Saturday. Peru’s tourism ministry expressed “deep sorrow over the tragic deaths of tourists and crew members” in a statement . The mysterious etchings in the desert, which include vast hummingbird, monkey and whale figures, are only fully visible from the air. Explore more on these topics Peru Plane crashes Americas news Share Reuse this content Most viewed Most viewed World Europe US news Americas Asia Australia Middle East Africa Inequality Global development News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning Sign up for our email About us Help Complaints & corrections Contact us Tip us off SecureDrop Privacy policy Cookie policy Tax strategy Terms & conditions All topics All writers Newsletters Digital newspaper archive Bluesky Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Threads TikTok YouTube Advertise with us Search UK jobs Tips Accessibility settings Work with us Back to top © 2026 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (dcr)
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