Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM)

[tw0122]

Indigenous leaders told Earther that attempts to contain the oil has been inadequate as has aid sent to impacted communities, forcing them to leave their territories in the midst of a pandemic in search of food and water. In response, they are suing the Ecuadorian government and oil companies responsible.

In early April a dramatic landslide in Ecuador caused a riverbed to collapse and two oil pipes to rupture, followed by a liquified natural gas pipe, spilling fuel into the Coca and Napo rivers. Within a few days the oil had spread to Peru, 300 kilometers (186 miles) away. Around 120,000 indigenous people are affected; the pollution means they have no water to drink or wash and no fish to eat.

As if that wasn’t enough to deal with, this disaster raises the risk of communities affected by the oil spill contacting coronavirus as they travel to buy food. Worryingly, the respiratory virus has already infected people in a nearby indigenous nation.