The Chilean navy said Saturday it sent a team to the site -- about 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of the town of Puerto Natales -- after Chilean mining and steelworking company CAP alerted it to the incident.

"Units were ordered to deploy immediately to the area to take stock of what has happened, to control and mitigate possible damage caused by the emergency," said the Chilean navy.

A barge and an ocean patrol boat were sent, along with a team to limit contamination at the site, the navy said, adding they have opened an investigation into the spill.

The affected area is part of Chile's extreme south, which has some of the world's cleanest waters and richest marine ecosystems.