Ecuador oil spill pollutes protected Amazonian zone

An oil spill in the Amazon region of Ecuador is causing significant damage to the environment, campaigners said Tuesday, and it's left thousands of Indigenous people without access to water and fishing.

The spill happened in the protected area on Friday when a rockfall ruptured a key oil pipeline. The environmental group said the area contaminated by the spill was ecologically fragile, as it was a national park with high levels of biodiversity. The oil had reached the Coca River and later the Napo River, a tributary of the River Amazon. It is estimated that the spill has affected more than 27,000 people from 105 Indigenous communities.