Mining company CAP says diesel spill in Chilean Patagonia is “contained”
The Chilean Navy had reported on Saturday that CAP reported a spill of 40,000 liters of diesel from a terminal on Guarello Island, about 800 kilometers of navigation away from the city of Punta Arenas
Chilean Navy work to contain a 40,000-liter diesel oil spill at the onshore terminal on Guarello Island on the southern coast of Patagonia, Chile, July 29, 2019 / Chilean Navy/ Handout via Reuters
Reuters | Natalia Ramos
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Chilean mining and steel group CAP reported that the spill of hydrocarbons into the sea on Saturday on an island in Patagonia is "contained" and that it activated a damage control and mitigation protocol.
Leer en español: Minera CAP dice derrame de diésel en Patagonia chilena está "contenido"
The Chilean Navy had reported on Saturday that CAP reported a spill of 40,000 liters of diesel from a terminal on Guarello Island, about 800 kilometers of navigation away from the city of Punta Arenas and 250 kilometers away in a straight northwest line from Puerto Natales, in the southern tip of Chile.
"All the protocols established for this type of operational incidents, including control and mitigation measures, were activated and the maritime authority has already been notified," said a note from the Huachipato Steel Company, a subsidiary of the CAP group, sent on Sunday to Reuters.
"During the day a container sleeve was installed in the bounded area impacted and the hydrocarbon extraction operations of the marine environment began immediately," he added.
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The company also said that it is monitoring the area with the help of a specialized foundation, without giving more details, while Navy ships had to arrive on Sunday to the affected place.
The maritime authority also said it would investigate the causes of the spill, which went from land to sea, a press officer at the institution told Reuters.
On the island, CAP has limestone exploitation.
Punta Arenas, in front of the Strait of Magellan, is more than 2,000 kilometers south of the Chilean capital.
