TEHRAN, Feb. 05 (MNA) – Five tourists and two crew died on Friday when their plane crashed on a trip to view Peru's famous Nazca lines, the transport ministry 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 around noon, it said in a statement.

There were no survivors among the seven on board, which a diplomatic source told AFP included two Chilean tourists, AFP reported.

Dozens of planes operate from the Maria Reiche airfield, flying tourists -- mainly foreigners -- over the Nazca lines, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

They are believed to have had ritual astronomical function or to have served as a calendar. Most are only visible from the sky.

In October 2010, four British tourists and two Peruvian crew members were killed when an AirNasca aircraft crashed over the lines.

A large number of firefighters and police teams were dispatched to the scene of crash.

An investigation regarding cause of the crash has been started.

MA/PR