New contamination due to spilled oil

Yesterday during the morning,   one of the docks that contained a mixture of water and oil, due to heavy rains, overflowed. This caused another emergency in Winchele, Esmeraldas, where  past Monday, April 8, a pipe from  the oil pipeline company OCP was damaged, because of a landslide which resulted in 5,500 barrels of spilled  oil.

The company said in a statement that the situation was able to be controlled an hour later. “The actions taken in a timely manner allowed the minimization of the impact of the oily water in the Esmeraldas River. The minimum percentage of identified oily water has been contained and  cleansed, so it did not become a threat to the community, “said OCP.

So far, there is a strong military back-up surrounding the place, to prevent access. Meanwhile, those affected have presented their complaints and ensures that they will initiate legal action against the company.