Cleaning Crews Face Massive Task After Peru Oil Spill

▶️ Hundreds have been working to clean up Peru’s beaches after an oil spill caused by a volcanic eruption thousands of kilometers away. Authorities have called the spill the worst ecological disaster in Lima in recent times.

👉A "relatively small” oil leak has been registered at a refinery off the Peruvian coast just 10 days after a major crude spill that workers are still battling to clean up, authorities said Wednesday.

The oil escaped Tuesday during work on an underwater pipeline of the La Pampilla refinery owned by Spanish energy giant Repsol, the environment ministry said.

The Osinergmin supervisory agency said "an estimated volume of eight barrels of crude oil (almost 1,300 liters, 343 gallons) was recorded and brought under control."

The leak happened, it said, during an "operation to remove remnant crude" from the pipeline as part of an investigation into what occurred during the first spill on January 15.

A naval official said the new leak was "relatively small."

"It has been brought under control," said Navy Captain Jesus Menacho, head of coast guard operations.

Steps were being taken "so that this new spill does not reach the coast," he told the RPP broadcaster.

Repsol, for its part, denied there had been a new spill, saying in a statement Wednesday there was "a controlled upwelling of remnants of the spill of January 15" during work on infrastructure 18 meters underwater.(AFP)