'Smells like death': Peru oil spill clear-up drags on as fishermen count cost

Fishermen load fish on boxes, after the oil spill pollution caused by abnormal waves triggered by a massive underwater volcanic eruption half a world away in Tonga, in Lima, Peru, January 21, 2022. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares

LIMA (Reuters) - Spanish energy firm Repsol said on Friday a clear-up operation for a major oil spill on the coast near Peru's capital Lima would take until the end of February, in an environmental incident declared a 'catastrophe' by the government.

Dead seals, fish and birds have washed up on the shore covered in oil, while fishing activities in the area have been suspended, the government has said. Repsol said it had enlisted fishermen to help clear-up the oil.