Oil spills into the Pasta River in the Amazon of Peru..."Nearby residents have a drinking water shortage".

Peru's Amazon indigenous community says residents in nearby villages are suffering from drinking water shortages as an oil spill near the Ecuadorian border extends to Peru's Pasta River.

Peru's state oil company Petroperu explained on Thursday local time that a problem with the Petroperu pipeline near the Ecuadorian border caused oil spills, and that the spill was spreading into the Pasta River, affecting residents of 12 nearby villages.

Petroperu responded to the emergency by closing the pipeline valve on the 4th local time and setting up a containment barrier to prevent further oil from flowing to nearby rivers.

Peru's Environmental Evaluation and Supervision Agency is investigating the cause of the oil spill in the pipeline.

According to the Peruvian government, 1,462 oil spills occurred in Peru from 1997 to last year.