Five tourists and two crew died on Friday when their plane crashed on a trip to view Peru’s famous Nazca lines, the Peruvian Ministry of Transport and Communications said.
The Cessna 207 single-engine plane belonging to the Aerosantos tourism company came down shortly after takeoff from the small airport of Maria Reiche in Nazca at about noon, the ministry said in a statement.
There were no survivors among the seven on board.
Photo: AFP / AMERICA TELEVISION
The tourists were two Chileans and three people from the Netherlands, the civil defense office in Nazca said.
Dozens of planes operate from the Maria Reiche airfield, flying tourists — mainly foreigners — over the Nazca lines, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The fabled lines — one of Peru’s top tourist attractions — were etched into the desert floor about 350km south of Lima between 500 BC and 500 AD, and depict animals, plants, imaginary beings and geometric figures several kilometers long. They are believed to have had ritual astronomical function or to have served as a calendar. Most are only visible from the sky.
The Cessna crashed as it was beginning its aerial tour of the site, falling at the edge of a road, radio station RPP said.
The plane exploded on impact and burst into flames, leaving the bodies charred beyond recognition, said Canal N, which published video of the smoking remains of the aircraft.
The cause of the incident would be investigated, the ministry said.
In October 2010, four British tourists and two Peruvian crew members were killed when an AirNasca aircraft crashed near the lines.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
RELEASE: The move follows Washington’s removal of Havana from its list of terrorism sponsors. Most of the inmates were arrested for taking part in anti-government protests Cuba has freed 127 prisoners, including opposition leader Jose Daniel Ferrer, in a landmark deal with departing US President Joe Biden that has led to emotional reunions across the communist island. Ferrer, 54, is the most high-profile of the prisoners that Cuba began freeing on Wednesday after Biden agreed to remove the country from Washington’s list of terrorism sponsors — part of an eleventh-hour bid to cement his legacy before handing power on Monday to US president-elect Donald Trump. “Thank God we have him home,” Nelva Ortega said of her husband, Ferrer, who has been in and out of prison for the
RSS