The Peruvian government has declared an environmental emergency in a coastal area in the north of the country where a shipment of crude oil from state oil company Petroperu leaked into the Pacific Ocean over the weekend.

The spill was caused by a ship carrying out pre-shipment manoeuvres at the Talara refinery in northern Peru on Saturday.

Petroperu did not specify how much crude oil leaked into the sea, but Peru’s environmental watchdog said in a preliminary report that the spill covered about 10,000 square metres of seawater, and the environment ministry said the spill damaged at least seven beaches as well as local wildlife.

Peru’s environment ministry said the 90-day state of emergency was aimed at ‘ensuring the sustainable management of the area and the implementation of recovery and remediation works to mitigate environmental contamination’.