Peru would take legal action by oil contamination

Petroecuador staff continues to make repairs

The Minister of the Environment of Peru, Manuel Pulgar Vidal, reported that it does not rule out to take actions in order to obtain compensation from those responsible by the slick of oil in Ecuador that extended to its territory, and has affected 32 communities in the border of its country.

“This is a case that is generated by a company and if there is a level of serious impact, international law always give the possibility of establishing a matter of compensation. But that is in evaluation, we have to see what is the magnitude of the problem, of the damage”, he said in an interview with ‘Channel N’, according to the website of the newspaper ´El Comercio de Lima’.

Pedro Merizalde, Minister of Non Renewable Natural Resources in Ecuador, met with Manuel Suarez, who is in charge of the affairs of the Embassy of Peru in Quito, to coordinate and inform about the actions undertaken.

Meanwhile, the families affected by the suspension of the pumping system of drinking water in the city of Coca and communities on the banks of the Coca and Napo rivers, have presented complaints because the offered aid has still not arrived, despite the fact that for six days the health emergency was declared in the province of Orellana by the contamination of the two rivers caused by the rupture of the Trans-Ecuadorian Oil Pipeline System  (SOTE) last Friday.

The Mayor of Coca, Anitha Rivas, added that authorities do not realize the magnitude of the problem, since until Tuesday they had 71 vehicles distributing water and yesterday fell to 65.

Petroecuador reported that they hired the US company Clean Caribbean & Americas, specialist in environmental cleanup, to assess and define the equipment needed to clean up the pollution, as stated by the news agency EFE.