An ecological accident occurred on the coast of Peru due to the eruption of the Tonga volcano – SME.sk

LIMA. Peruvian authorities closed three oil-polluted beaches on Monday due to a tsunami eruption caused by a volcanic eruption in the Tonga archipelago.

The Pampilla refinery, part of the Spanish company Repsol, admitted that there was an “oil spill” off the coast of Callao and Ventanilla districts near Lima on Saturday, due to strong waves caused by the eruption of a volcano on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

The oil leak occurred during its unloading from the tank.

The Pampilla refinery did not say how much oil had been spilled into the sea, and announced that it was working with the authorities to clean up the affected beaches.

In the meantime, the National Emergency Operations Center said in a statement that the situation had been brought under control.

Environment Minister Rubén Ramírez said that oil polluted three kilometers of coastline along three beaches. He added that biodiversity had been damaged and acknowledged the possible threat to human health. For this reason, the whole area has been closed and it is forbidden to carry out all kinds of normal activities there.

This ban particularly affects local fishermen, who are demanding that the government severely punish the perpetrator of the environmental accident and compensate them for the damage and loss of earnings.

The oil floating on the sea was collected by the ship’s crews, and was removed on land by people in protective suits.

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Pampilla could face fines of up to $ 34.5 million, the Department of the Environment said. The case is already being dealt with by the relevant prosecutor’s office.

As AFP recalled, two women drowned on a beach in northern Peru in “unusually high” waves caused by the eruption of an underwater volcano off the coast of the island state of Tonga.

The eruption of the Hung Tong-Hung Ha’apai submarine volcano was so strong that it was recorded all over the world. The eruption triggered tsunamis that flooded the Pacific coast from Japan to the United States.

The southern part of Peru, about 10,600 kilometers from Tonga, has experienced mild flooding in several coastal areas, where authorities have had to evacuate dozens of people.