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Ecological disaster after Peru oil spill

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oil spill
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Authorities have said that a massive oil spill off the coast of Peru has caused an ecological disaster.

More than 6,000 barrels of oil leaked from the La Pampilla refinery after a tanker was hit by large waves linked to Tonga's volcanic eruption.

In a statement posted to Twitter by Peru foreign ministry officials, they said: ‘This is the worst ecological disaster that has occurred around Lima in recent times and has seriously damaged hundreds of fishermen's families'.

Oil spill effects felt for thousands of kilometres

Some 18,000km sq km of protected zones containing a variety of rare plant and animal life has been affected.

The officials demanded that operator Repsol pay compensation, with prosecutors opening an investigation into Repsol's role in the incident, but the company's communications director Tine Van Dien denied responsibility for the leak, saying ‘we did not cause this ecological disaster and we cannot say who is responsible'.

Photo credit: EPA

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Mark Evans
Mark Evans
Scuba Diver's Editorial Director Mark Evans has been in the diving industry for nearly 25 years, and has been diving since he was just 12 years old. nearly 40-odd years later and he is still addicted to the underwater world.
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