Americas

Americas

Colombian rebels attack oil well, kill five

05 July 2012 02:32 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Colombia’s leftist insurgents Wednesday attacked an oil well in southwestern Putumayo province, killing five people and injuring two more, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Members of the 32nd Front of Colombia’s Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) blew up the Sibundoy 1 pipeline at 5 a.m. local time (10:00 GMT), killing five contractors working for Ecopetrol, the state-run oil company, and injuring two others, Colombian Army Major Guillermo Delvasto Jaime said.

While there were no workers at the site of the explosion, the blast apparently sparked a massive fire that reached a nearby campground where workers were staying, police officials said.

The Colombian Army issued a statement saying it "condemns this flagrant violation of human rights perpetrated by members of the FARC’s 32nd southern front."

Ecopetrol also issued a statement, confirming the deaths, but putting the number of injured at three.

The attack followed another happening a day earlier in north- central Norte de Santander province, where rebels dynamited a section of the Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline, disrupting operations there.

Colombia’s rebels have stepped up their attacks on the country’ s oil infrastructure, with more than 40 attacks on pipelines so far this year, according to local news media.

The army said it had launched a search operation in the area to capture the rebels.