Ecuador pipeline back on line after spilling 14,000 barrels of oil in Amazon

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - An oil pipeline that ruptured and spilled 14,000 barrels of crude in Ecuador's Amazon jungle, is back on line after seven days of repairs, the pipeline's private operator said Tuesday.

Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados said in a statement that operations were resumed after a series of of tests on the pipeline.

The pipeline ruptured near the jungle community of Santa Rosa, 50 miles east of Quito and the operators immediately shut it down, sending specialists to contain the spill with dikes and pools.

The company said that cleanup crews have "significantly reduced" the slick of crude and specialists are still working in the area.

Ana Rivas, mayor of the nearby community of Francisco de Orellana, calls the spill an "environmental and socio-economic catastrophe," partly because some of the oil leaked into rivers.

"It's affected our people, our animals — all the flora and fauna — because the river is our lifeblood and our people's source of water," Rivas told EcuadorInmediato radio Tuesday.

The Accion Ecologica environmental group called for punishment of those responsible for the spill and its damage to local communities.

The pipeline transports crude from the jungle to Ecuador's coast for several foreign companies, including China's Andes Petroleum, Spain's Repsol-YPF, Brazil's state-run Petrobras and Paris-based Perenco SA.

Exports were not affected by the weeklong pipeline suspension because the companies that use the line had stockpiled reserves at coastal ports.

Ecuador is South America's fifth-largest oil producer and relies on oil exports for 40 percent of its federal budget.