Children and tourists held hostage by indigenous people in the Amazon forest in Peru

Thriller with dozens of tourists and children from Western countries is underway in the Amazon rainforest, Peru. A group of natives captured a boat with at least 70 peopleamong them children and tourists from Western countries.

According to information transmitted by international media, a group of natives seized the ship, on which 70 tourists from France, Spain, USA and Switzerland. According to the head of the indigenous group, their purpose is “to get the attention of the government” after they did not receive enough government assistance from an oil spill that hit their area in September.

Angela Ramirez, who is one of the hostages, said a one-month-old baby, pregnant women, disabled people and the elderly are on board. She added that they may remain hostages for up to eight days, until a solution is found.

Watson Trujillo, who leads her Cuninico community in the Peruvian Amazon, said “drastic measures” should pressure the government to send a delegation to assess the damage from the 2,500-ton crude oil spill in the Cuninico River. The prisoners would spend the night inside the boat, he added.

Trujillo said he would return to the boat on Friday to assess the situation and consider whether to release the tourists.

On September 27, the government declared a state of emergency for 90 days in the affected area, which is home to the communities of Cuninico and Urarinas and where about 2,500 indigenous people live. The 800 km Norperuano pipeline, owned by the state Petroperuwas built four decades ago to transport crude oil from the Amazon region to the ports of Piura, on the coast.

According to Petroperu, the leak was the result of deliberate action, with a 21cm cut in the pipeline.

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