A one-month old child, people with disabilities, pregnant women and elderly people are on board
Britons that were travelling on a river boat are reportedly being held hostage by a tribe in Peru’s Amazon rainforest.
Local media have reported that Indigenous people from Cuninico in the northernmost Loreto province detained a group of about 70 travellers, including citizens from the US, Spain, France and Switzerland, to protest the lack of government aid following an oil spill.
Watson Trujillo, the leader of the Cuninico community, told Radio Programas del Perú (RPP Radio): “[We want] to call the government’s attention with this action, there are foreigners and Peruvians, there are about 70 people.”
RRP Radio reported there is a one-month-old child, people with disabilities, pregnant women and elderly people being held.
The hostages are to spend the night inside the boat while Trujillo waits for a government response. Released photos show the boat moored to the side of the Marañón river.
The tourists may be held for between six to eight days until a deal is reached, Metro reported.
Trujillo said his group took the “radical measure” in an effort to pressure the government to assess the environmental damage from 2,358 tons of crude oil leaking into the Cuninico River.
Ángela Ramírez, one of the detainees, told RPP: “They told us that it was because they are seeking the attention of the state to resolve the oil spill and that, as a result, two children and a woman have died.”
“They are kind and respectful to us, but it is the only way they have found to look for solutions for their community,” she added on Facebook.
“The quicker they are heard the quicker they will let us go. We’ve been here since 10am they took the boat and took the battery.
“Help me share, we’re physically fine. Help me help them to be heard.”
On September 16, the North Peruvian Pipeline burst. It spread to the Marañón – home to some 2,500 indigenous people – prompting a 90-day state of emergency.
State oil company Petroperú have blamed the spill on an intentional 21-centimetre cut in the pipeline pipe.
The river has long been a lifeline to the indigenous
The Kukuma people rely on the river for drinking water, fish and recreation for children but repeated oil spills from the major pipeline have jeopardised the lifeline.
In 2014, 2,358 gallons of oil spilt into the river dying it black and contaminated it with toxic metals.
Two more major spills as well as 20 others would take place over the next five years, according to government figures.
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