Peru light plane crash at Nazca Lines kills five tourists, two crew

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of the Parrot Nazca Lines in the Nazca desert September 7, 2010. These ancient geoglyphs, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are a series of enigmatic shapes and lines and stylized figures of animals etched in the desert some 2,000 years ago by the Nazca culture. . REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil/File Photo

LIMA (Reuters) - At least seven people have died after a light aircraft crashed during a flight above the Nazca Lines archaeological site in Peru, local police and the national government said on Friday.

Local police said that the deceased included three Dutch tourists, two Chilean tourists, and two Peruvian members of crew.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications said in a statement that the Cessna 207 aircraft crashed in the vicinity of the Maria Reiche airport in the city of Nazca.

"As a result of the accident there have been no survivors," it said, adding that the cause of the accident is being investigated.

The head of the Nazca police, Commander Edgar Espinoza, told journalists that the plane apparently caught fire after hitting the ground.

The Nazca Lines, one of Peru's most popular tourist attractions, is a UNESCO world heritage site home to hundreds of gigantic geoglyphs dating back more than 2,000 years, showing figures that include a hummingbird, monkey, spider, pelican and whale.

The protected 400-square-kilometer (250-square-mile) region, which lies some 450 km south of the capital Lima between the towns of Nazca and Palpa, is often viewed by tourists from the sky to get the best view of the huge ancient figures.

Reuters could not immediately reach the Chilean and Dutch embassies in Peru for comment.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino and Carolina Pulice, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)