Venezuela will put 1,500 people to work clearing up an oil spill at a river in the east of the country that has forced the authorities to close a water purification plant, the environment minister said on Sunday.
Officials say an accident on February 4 ruptured a pipeline carrying crude near the city of Maturin in the latest of many mishaps to afflict state oil company PDVSA.
It was not clear how much crude had been spilled in the Guarapiche River.
An opposition lawmaker has told local media as many as 60,000 barrels of crude were spilled in the Guarapiche, but there was no confirmation of that from PDVSA or the government .... Read more at http://www.reuters.com
