Venezuela sends in Guarapiche cleaners

Cleanup: Workers set up barriers to contain the oil spill in the Guarapiche River on the outskirts of Maturin in this 7 February photo.

AP/SCANPIX

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By News Wires

 13 February 2012 02:04 GMT

Venezuela will put 1500 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 4 February ruptured a pipeline carrying crude near the city of Maturin in the latest of many mishaps to afflict state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, also known as PDVSA.

It was not clear how much crude had been spilled in the Guarapiche River, Reuters reported.

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.

Speaking separately to Venezuela's state news agency AVN, senior PDVSA executive Ramiro…

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