

Peru – Three devastating oil spills have occurred in the Peruvian Amazon since January 25th spilling thousands of barrels of oil into Amazonian rivers.

The first rupture of the North Peruvian Pipeline occurred on Jan. 25 in the municipality of Imaza-Chiriaco, Amazonas region, where it’s estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 barrels of crude were spilled over the three days it took Petroperu to repair the pipeline.

The spilled oil affected the Inayo, Chiriaco and Marañon (an Amazon tributary) rivers and the Suashapea, Pakunt, Chiriaco, Nuevo Progreso, Nazareth and Nuevo Horizonte indigenous communities, Digesa’s resolution said.

The second spill occurred on Feb. 3 in Datem del Marañon province and resulted in oil reaching the Mayuriaga River and then the Morona River, a Marañon tributary of the Amazon rain forest.

The amount of oil spilled in that breach of the same pipeline remains unclear because Petroperu did not indicate the amount lost in the environmental emergency report it submitted to the Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement, or OEFA. News reports have claimed a third spill near Pucará, though the pipeline operator Petroperu has taken to Twitter to deny this.

A 90-day water quality emergency has been declared by Peru’s Ministery of Health in several districts in the north of the country, following the major oil pipeline spills.

The General Directorate of Environmental Health (Digesa) has declared emergencies in the Imaza district in the Amazonas region and in Morona, Manseriche, Barranca, Pastaza and Cahuapana, districts in Datem de Maranon province, part of the Loreto region.

Muerte de flora y fauna por derrame de petróleo en el Amazonas Death of Flora and Fauna Gallery El derrame se produjo en el Oleoducto Norperuano, de la estatal Petroperú, a unos tres kilómetros del río Chiriaco, afluente del Marañón. Un caimán intenta desplazarse entre el petróleo. | Fuente: Facebook Richard Torres | Fotógrafo:Facebook Richard Torres Pobladores tratan de salvar a un delfín rosado. | Fuente: Facebook Richard Torres | Fotógrafo: Facebook Richard Torres Cerca de 300 personas realizan las labores de limpieza de la quebrada cercana al río Chiriaco. | Fuente:Facebook Richard Torres | Fotógrafo: Facebook Richard Torres Las aves de la zona luchan por sobrevivir al desastre. | Fuente: Facebook Richard Torres | Fotógrafo:Facebook Richard Torres Este mamífero se ha visto seriamente afectado por el petróleo. | Fuente: Facebook Richard Torres |Fotógrafo: Facebook Richard Torres Al lugar han acudido decenas de personas para poder rescatar a algunos animales. | Fuente: Facebook Richard Torres | Fotógrafo: Facebook Richard Torres Manuel Pulgar Vidal, titular del MINAM, señaló que la sanción a los responsables es necesaria para evitar futuros desastres. | Fuente: Facebook Richard Torres | Fotógrafo: Facebook Richard Torres El agua de la lluvia llevó el petróleo derramado hasta el río Chiriaco y luego al Marañón. | Fuente:Facebook Richard Torres | Fotógrafo: Facebook Richard Torres