In Ecuador, the operator of a privately held pipeline has shut down the flow of heavy crude oil after the pipeline ruptured in the Amazon.  OCP Ecuador claimed the spill had burst in an area not connected to waterways, but members of the Kichwa Indigenous community shared video showing contamination on rivers in their territory. 

Quito, February 1 (RHC)-- In Ecuador, the operator of a privately held pipeline has shut down the flow of heavy crude oil after the pipeline ruptured in the Amazon.  OCP Ecuador claimed the spill had burst in an area not connected to waterways, but members of the Kichwa Indigenous community shared video showing contamination on rivers in their territory. 

Environmentalist Juan Pablo Fajardo told reporters in Quito: “We see that it’s a high-magnitude spill. It’s believed that water sources and third parties were affected.  It’s considered a category 3 spill. That is what has happened, and contingency measures from the operator have been requested.”

In related news, in Peru, a judge has barred four executives with the Spanish oil company Repsol from leaving the country after nearly 12,000 barrels of oil leaked into the ocean on January 15.  The spill was triggered by a tsunami from a massive volcanic eruption in Tonga.  It was Peru’s largest environmental disaster in years.

Meanwhile, authorities in eastern Thailand are fighting to prevent a 13,000-gallon oil spill from damaging fragile coral reefs and reaching a popular resort island.