An oil spill in Ecuador in late January has been spreading over the past few days throughout the Yasuní area reaching unforeseen proportions, it was reported Wednesday.
After a spill of 6,300 barrels of crude in the Amazon due to a break in an oil pipeline in the area of the Coca River eroded by deficiencies in the construction of a Chinese dam, authorities are beginning to speak of a “major environmental disaster.”
Ecuador’s Environment Minister Gustavo Manrique said an oil slick had been reported in Añangu, in the Yasuní National Park. Local indigenous communities had already spoken of a spill which has allegedly affected at least 300 kilometers, from the area where the pipeline broke to the entrance to the Yasuní intangible area.
The Environment Ministry had already reported the spill had affected over 21 square meters including the area of the Cayambe Coca National Park, known for being the habitat of several protected species and recognized because the Reserve protects one of the country’s main water supplies.
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