Two dead after Peruvian navy ship hits oil platform in Amazon River

A Peruvian navy vessel has collided with an oil platform in the Amazon River, killing at least two people and leaving one missing.

The collision happened in the early hours of Friday morning at the junction of the Napo and Amazon rivers, causing "severe damage", Peru's defence ministry said.

Thirty crew members were rescued from the vessel, with specialised diving teams and helicopters deployed as part of the search operation, the statement added.

Anglo-French company Perenco, which owns the platform, said that the vessel had collided with the bow chain of the empty storage vessel. The Peruvian defence ministry said it was investigating the cause of the collision.

"Peru's Navy deeply regrets the irreparable loss of our crew members," the defence ministry said, adding that it would provide assistance to their loved ones.

The ministry said the vessel, called Ucayali, hit the platform while it was navigating near the mouth of the Napo River in northern Peru.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Perenco told the BBC that "at approximately 1.30am the Peruvian Navy's BAP Ucayali collided with the bow chain of the AF Manatí, an empty Perenco storage vessel at permanent anchor".

The spokesperson said that Perenco had assisted the Peruvian Navy's search and rescue operation, adding that the company "extends its condolences to the families of the sailors lost in the incident".

There are hundreds of gas and oil blocks in areas of Peru, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador covered by the Amazon rainforest. Spills in the region have had a devastating impact on indigenous communities and local wildlife.

In 2022, the Peruvian government said that almost 12,000 barrels of oil had leaked into the sea after a tanker was hit by waves linked to a volcanic eruption on Tonga.