Control oil spill in Peru after waves by volcano in Tonga, say authorities

This is how the Tonga volcano shock wave spread 0:45

(CNN Spanish) –– 

The oil spill in the Ventanilla Sea, in the province of Callao in Peru, is under control, the National Institute of Civil Defense of Peru (Indeci) reported on Monday.

The agency also indicated that the control and cleaning of the coast continue in coordination with local authorities.

The spill occurred this Saturday during the process of unloading crude oil from the Mare Dorium ship, from the La Pampilla Refinery, after the strong waves caused by the underwater volcanic eruption near Tonga.

In a statement, they indicated that the company, operated by Repsol, "immediately" activated the security protocols and that its brigades managed to control the incident.

• First images of volcano damage in Tonga show entire communities covered in ash

This Monday, the Minister of the Environment, Rubén Ramírez, supervised the environmental damage that occurred on two beaches in Ventanilla (Cavero and Bahía Blanca).

In that sense, he said that there is "serious damage" to biodiversity, which can even affect people's health, according to a statement.

For its part, the Agency for Environmental Assessment and Control (OEFA), an institution attached to the Ministry of the Environment, supervises the incident to verify the causes of the environmental emergency, the responsibility and the impact generated.

In addition, municipal personnel from Ventanilla and the National Police closed the Costa Azul and Bahía Blanca beaches to protect the health of bathers.

Although, for the moment "no damage to life or health was reported."

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• Tonga government declares state of emergency after volcano eruption

Finally, Indeci indicated that it continues to monitor the situation and coordinate with regional and local authorities, whom it urges to keep their emergency operations centers active.

Open investigation for possible environmental contamination

The Specialized Prosecutor for Environmental Matters (FEMA) of Lima Noroeste reported this Monday that it opened an investigation for the alleged crime of environmental pollution against the legal representatives, officials of the La Pampilla SA Refinery and those who are responsible, for "affecting the coastline with the crude oil spill.

Watch the smoke and explosions left by the underwater volcano near Tonga 0:53

In a statement, FEMA indicated that the high amount of oil in the sea, which is being sucked into polyethylene hoses, "differs with the preliminary information obtained by the La Pampilla refinery, which indicates that 7 gallons (or 26 liters) were spilled ) of oil".

CNN has contacted Repsol for comment on the allegations.

In a statement this Sunday, La Pampilla Refinery pointed out that the spill occurred due to "the violence of the waves" that occurred in full unloading work. It added that it "immediately" activated its security protocols and its brigades managed to control the incident.

According to the Public Ministry, prosecutor Ariel Tapia Gómez confirmed that the spill affected the districts of Ventanilla, Santa Rosa and Ancón.

"This fact would have produced maritime contamination and the death of hydrobiological species and birds, the latter in the reserved zone of Ancón," they pointed out.

They added that the inspections at the scene of the events by land and sea will continue, with the aim of verifying the damage in the maritime zone and the effects on the ecosystem.

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