Peruvian President Pedro Castillo declared an environmental emergency on January 20, as clean-up teams struggled to contain a huge oil spill, after rogue waves rocked a ship unloading crude.
The spill took place after unusual swells caused by a volcanic eruption thousands of miles away in Tonga, affected a ship tat was unloading crude in Peru.
The oil spill has dirtied waters and beaches along Peru’s Pacific coast, with dead birds and seals washing up on shore.
According to Reuters, a spokeswoman for La Pampilla refinery, owned by Spanish energy firm Repsol, said the firm was not responsible for the spill and blamed the Peruvian Navy for not issuing a tsunami warning after the Tonga eruption.
What is more, Environment Minister Ruben Ramirez informed that about 6,000 barrels of oil were spilled in the incident.
In addition, Peru’s Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement (OEFA) stated that as of January 20. the area affected included 1.7 million square meters of land and 1.2 million square meters in the sea.
A team of divers was exploring underwater damage from the spill, having already deployed more than 2,500 meters of containment booms and 10 boats to recover oil from the sea.
