Protest leaders from two oil-rich Amazon provinces where violent demonstrations brought petroleum production to a halt last week have started negotiations in Ecuador’s capital Quito with President Alfredo Palacio’s government.

Brian O’Mahony, Chief Business Correspondent

Protests in two Amazon provinces have halted a major pipeline operation run by Ecuador’s state-owned Petroecuador, a company executive has said.

Rescue workers are struggling to look for the bodies of 36 people, buried by an avalanche of rock and mud in the Andes.

An avalanche of rock and mud slammed down on a group of stranded motorists in Ecuador, killing at least 41 people, authorities said yesterday.