Oil spill in Ecuador River brings emergency declaration

State-owned Petroecuador worked to address the emergency at the pipeline, part of the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System (SOTE) which transports crude oil from the Amazon after an oil spill in northwestern Ecuador has turned a river black. 

The incident prompted authorities to declare an environmental emergency and order residents to ration drinking water. The spill, believed to have been caused when a landslide ruptured a major oil pipeline, has contaminated a section of the Esmeraldas River in the province of the same name. 

The Emergency Operations Committee in the provincial capital declared an environmental emergency over concerns about water quality. The mayor of the city of more than 200,000, said the leak had caused "unprecedented" damages.