LIMA, Jan 18, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Peruvian authorities sealed off three
beaches Monday after they were hit by an oil spill blamed on freak waves
caused by the volcanic eruption in Tonga.

   The Pampilla Refinery, part of the Spanish company Repsol, said there had
been a "limited spill" of oil off the coast of Callao and Ventanilla
districts near Lima Saturday due to the violent waves produced by the
eruption on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

   It said the spill occurred during offloading from a tanker.

   The National Emergency Operations Center said in a statement that the
spill had been brought under control.

   Environment Minister Ruben Ramirez said the accident had affected a three-
kilometer (two-mile) stretch along three beaches.

   "There is great damage to biodiversity, and it could even impact human
health," he said.

   "And so it has been ordered that the area is cut off for all kinds of
activity," Ramirez told reporters.

   Pampilla could face a fine of up to $34.5 million, the environment
ministry said, as prosecutors opened an investigation into the company for
environmental contamination.

   Pampilla -- which did not indicate exactly how much oil was spilled --
said it was working with authorities to clean up the affected beaches.

   Ships worked on collecting oil still floating in the water, while workers
in protective gear began cleaning oil that had washed ashore.

   "We want to tell the environment ministry to please follow up, and that
those responsible receive a punishment, because this affects the fishermen,
the population that they feed with the fish, and marine animals," local
Ventanilla resident Brenda Ramos told AFP.

   Elsewhere in Peru, two women drowned after being caught in waves caused by
the volcanic eruption in Tonga.

   The island nation, in the southwest Pacific, has been nearly entirely cut
off from the outside world after the eruption severed an undersea
communications cable.

   The eruption was recorded around the globe and heard as far away as
Alaska, triggering a tsunami that flooded Pacific coastlines from Japan to
the United States.