Oil spill clean up ongoing as fishermen protest damage

Oil, think and deadly, continued to wash up on beaches in Lima, two days after an Italian-flagged ship was loading oil into La Pampilla when strong waves moved the boat and caused the spill.

The waves causing the spill originated from an eruption of an undersea volcano in the South Pacific nation of Tonga. Local fishermen fear that the damage is far greater than the government is letting on. Some 18,000 square meters of beach on Peru's Pacific coast have been affected by the spill. The Peruvian agency said Repsol "has not adopted immediate measures in order to prevent cumulative or more serious damage that affects the soil, water, flora, fauna and hydrobiological resources. Local authorities have closed beaches in the area to the public since Sunday. The oil spill in Peru, in an area rich in marine biodiversity, is the only known to have occurred in the entire Pacific basin after Saturday’s eruption. Dozens of local fishermen protested in front of the refinery entrance, unfurling a large banner in the colors of Peru's flag.