The mayor of Lobitos, Ricardo Bancayán, expressed his concern about the environmental, economic and social consequences after the oil spill in the Piura Sea caused by Petroperú.
“This incident is damaging our biodiversity, leaving turtles, crabs, octopuses and other species covered in oil, as well as most of the rocks where barnacles grow, a marine species that is abundant in our district.“said the mayor for the media.
Likewise, he urged the authorities to impose exemplary sanctions so that this does not happen again.
“The nature of Lobitos is our greatest wealth and we will not allow acts like this to go unpunished. We stand in solidarity with our community, especially with the fishermen and families who depend on our beaches. They greatly harm us even more by being considered a week ago as Playa Saludabl.e”, he added.
In addition, the mayor had a telephone conversation with Latina and stated that the company responsible “wants to minimize the problem.”
“We are a purely oil, tourist and fishing district, we have been preparing to welcome summer. And today, we are seeing this misfortune that the oil spill brings us, we are doing work with the environmental authorities and the police. We are outraged by this situation”, he expressed.
“The outrageous thing is that the responsible company wants to minimize the problem, making different data and figures. We are with the institutions that have to do with inspection”he added.
On the other hand, the mayor of Lobitos affirms that at the moment there are five beaches affected by the oil spill.
“So far we are counting five beaches, totally clean with a diversity of mollusks.“said Ricardo Bancayán.
Prosecutor’s Office opens preliminary investigation into Petroperú for oil spill in Talara
The Provincial Prosecutor’s Office Specialized in Environmental Matters of Sullana opened this Sunday, December 22, 2024, a preliminary investigation against the company Petroperú for the alleged commission of the crime of environmental pollution, after the oil spill on Las Capullanas beach, Lobitos district, Talara (Piura).
Through its social networks, the Public Ministry reported that it was evident “the presence of an oily substance and sediments impregnated both in the sea and on the shore.” “In addition to birds and marine fauna seriously affected by water pollution“, it reads.
He specified that during the verification visit, Petroperú informed the prosecutor’s office of the activation of a contingency plan as a first response to this accident that has affected the area.
Prosecutor Silvia del Carmen Neyra Herrera verified, along with other authorities, the contamination of Las Capullanas beach, Lobitos district, Talara, the area where the hydrocarbon spill impacted.
Environmental disaster
An environmental disaster of hitherto incalculable dimensions was caused by the oil spill that occurred on Saturday, December 21 in the area of Lobitos, in the province of Talara, apparently as a result of the loading and unloading activities of crude oil on the marine coast. towards the Talara Refinery.
The crude oil spill spread along Las Capullanas beach until it reached other beaches in the area, destroying marine species and affecting the tourist circuit of beaches where tourist tours are carried out daily. The amount of oil spilled and the area of expansion of the crude oil towards the Lobiteño beaches that have been severely contaminated are still unknown. The population of the Lobitos district has shown its total mortification and demands that the competent authorities carry out the investigations.
“This is a tragedy, look how the newborn turtles, the birds, the barnacles have died, this spill is affecting our tourist activity,” said citizen Jaime Llontop. According to witnesses, the spill occurred yesterday morning, when it perished, it would be the responsibility of one of the companies that carry out activities at sea, both in production and transportation.
In this regard, Mayor Lobitos, Ricardo Bancayán, has indicated that he will proceed to file a criminal complaint in which he will request the respective compensation for all affected artisanal fishermen.