A group of about 100 people were traveling by boat earlier this week in northeastern Peru when locals from the Cucamá indigenous communities, reportedly armed with spears and bows and arrows, forced them to dock. They said they were protesting a deadly oil spill and would not release the group until the Peruvian government and Petroperu, the state oil company, dealt with the matter. The spill reportedly killed two babies and a woman after poisoning the local water supply. The group is not believed to be harmed, but two British tourists said “conditions are starting to deteriorate” as they run out of food and clean water. Speaking to the BBC, Charlotte Wiltshire called for “intervention to get us out of here”, saying there were pregnant, diabetic, elderly and sick people on board. “We are fine physically,” a Peruvian team member, Angela Ramírez, posted on Facebook. “They took the boat and took the battery. They are FRIENDLY AND RESPECTFUL to us, but this is the only way they have to find solutions for their community.” “The sooner they are heard, the sooner they will let us go. Help me share it,” he added. The group includes 23 foreigners from Germany, Great Britain, Spain and France, according to indigenous leader Wadson Trujillo.
