Indigenous Group In Peru's Cuninico Seizes Another Tourist Vessel - Reports

MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th November, 2022) Residents of the indigenous Peruvian community of Cuninico have seized another river vessel with over 70 tourists on board, media report.

As of Sunday morning, there was no water or food on board the ship, the RPP (Radio Programas del Peru) broadcaster said. The passengers include over two dozen children.

On Friday, the Cuninico indigenous group released more than 100 tourists taken hostage on the Cuninico river on Thursday.

According to some media reports, the group has already seized several vessels, as a form of protest over the government's inaction in dealing with the oil spill into the Cuninico river that occurred on September 16 and killed three locals, including two children.

The indigenous Peruvian community of Cuninico has claimed that it had reached out to the government 46 times, demanding that the issue get resolved.

The oil spill occurred due to a rupture of a pipeline of Peruvian state-run oil company Petroperu. The company said that the oil spill was the result of deliberate attempts to damage the pipeline. It initiated an emergency plan and vowed to coordinate the delivery of drinking water and food for the residents of the affected communities.

Peruvian Prime Minister Anibal Torres Vasquez has said that the oil spill that caused the catastrophic pollution of the river was the result of deliberate actions on the part of the locals seeking compensation from the government or oil companies.