the oil spill upsets the landscapes of the coast

Oil slicks on the white sand. Ten days after the volcanic eruption of the Tonga Islands, Callao Cove (Peru) looks grim. Yet, usually, the place approaches what can be described as heavenly. The coastline has been stained by thick magma that volunteers in overalls are trying to remove by hand. “My job is to suck up everything on the shore. Everything must be removed, piece by piece to avoid contamination“, explains Hector Fernandez who came to help.

At the origin of the oil spill, a volcanic eruption more than 10,000 kilometers from the Peruvian coast. An eruption that caused a strong swell in the Pacific and rocked a gigantic oil tanker as it unloaded its cargo. And the consequences are disastrous: 6,000 barrels at sea, or more than a million liters of oil. To the north of Lima, about twenty beaches are now polluted. Thousands of birds died of asphyxiation or sticking. The fishermen are struggling to work: “Nothing sells. The fish smells of petroleum. People don’t buy it. They don’t eat it because they are afraid of getting poisoned“, says a fishmonger. For the time being, the Peruvian government is trying to contain the tide by various means.