Blast-triggered oil leak contaminates rivers in Columbia
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E-mail Xinhua, July 23, 2012
Blast-triggered oil leakage in eastern Columbia had contaminated rivers, leaving more than 120,000 residents vulnerable to water shortage, authorities said Sunday.
An unidentified group sabotaged late Saturday a 780-km long pipeline at the Cano Limon Covenas oil well near Boyaca province's Cubara, leaving the small city Saravena most affected, said Mining and Energy Minister Mauricio Cardenas.
Saravena is a thriving urban center thanks to foreign investment in the regional mining and oil industries in recent years.
The spill seeped into both Royota and Arauca rivers, affecting the water supply to Saravena and its surroundings. At least 120,000 inhabitants were to face water shortage, estimated local authorities.
Cardenas condemned the attack and said authorities did not yet know how much oil had spilled into the waterways.
"First, we must categorically reject and condemn this new act of terrorism ... against the population, the natural resources and a resource as fundamental and essential as water," Cardenas told local RCN radio.
He added that water supply would be restored soon, as workers were trying to stem the spill and clean up the polluted rivers.
The river of Arauca lies along the border with neighboring Venezuela. Asked whether the spill could have affected communities in Venezuela, Cardenas said "it may have happened, but we have no official information."
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