Seven Italian tourists were among the 13 victims of the horrific crash of a small tourist plane in southern Peru . According to local press reports, the plane had taken off a few minutes earlier from Pisco's Maria Reiche airport, bound for the famous archaeological site of Nazca, carrying several European tourists, when it lost contact with air traffic control.

According to initial reports, there were thirteen victims: 11 tourists, a pilot, and a tour guide. In addition to the Italians, two Spaniards and two Germans also died. The Italian Embassy in Lima is in contact with Peruvian authorities.

The crash reportedly occurred shortly before 1:00 PM local time on Saturday, or 8:00 PM Italian time. The cause of the disaster is currently unknown, but the possibility is gaining traction that the crash was caused by bad weather : in the last few hours, strong winds have hit the region, where violent gusts have caused trees to fall, damage to infrastructure, road accidents, and the temporary suspension of air operations in several provinces. The plane, owned by Aerodiana, was headed to Nazca for a sightseeing flight over the famous Nazca Lines, a popular tourist site where over 13,000 lines traced on the ground form 800 designs. These include the stylized profiles of animals common to the area, from whales to parrots, from a 180-meter-long lizard to hummingbirds, condors, and a huge 45-meter-long spider.

William Acosta, an inspector with the Peruvian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC), announced that experts from Lima will soon arrive at the crash site to conduct the necessary investigation. What is certain is that the impact was extremely violent and that there were no survivors. César Martínez Elías, a member of the Nazca fire department, told local media that the plane involved was a Cessna Caravan 201B.

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