Oil spill in Peru tourist zone sparks ‘environmental emergency’

Peru has declared an “environmental emergency” after an oil spill triggered a clean-up operation along a stretch of the northern coast popular with tourists.

According to state energy company Petroperu, the cleanup of half a dozen beaches in Talara province is almost complete, and work is planned to mitigate the impact on birds, wildlife and commerce in the area, whose population relies on fishing and tourism.

The emergency measure will be in effect for 90 days, during which the authorities must carry out recovery and remedial work, according to a resolution of the Ministry of the Environment quoted on Wednesday evening by the Andina state news agency.

The leak was detected last Friday on Las Capullanas beach as crude oil was about to be loaded into a tanker, the company said over the weekend without specifying the cause or the amount of oil spilled.

The government’s Environmental Assessment and Monitoring Agency said the oil spill spread over an area of ​​47 to 229 hectares (116 to 566 acres).

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The prosecutor’s office on Sunday launched an investigation against Petroperu for the alleged crime of environmental contamination that it said affected the sea and shore along the South American nation’s Pacific coast.

“Birds and marine fauna were also found to be severely affected,” the document said.

Source: AFP