A canal in a suburb of Buenos Aires turned a startling shade of bright red on Thursday, leaving residents alarmed as the unusual phenomenon spread into the nearby Rio de la Plata estuary.
Images and videos captured the vividly coloured water flowing near an ecological reserve, raising concerns about possible contamination.
According to BBC, local media reports suggest the colour change may have been caused by the illegal dumping of textile dye or chemical waste from a nearby facility. The Environment Ministry confirmed that water samples had been taken from the Sarandí canal to determine the exact cause.
By late afternoon, the colour had faded slightly, according to AFP. However, residents say the issue is not new, with many blaming local industries for polluting the waterway.
The canal runs through an area home to leather processing and textile factories, located about 10 kilometres from the centre of the capital.
A resident named Silvia told local news channel C5N that while the water was red this time, it has appeared in other colours before. “Other times it was yellow, with an acidic smell that makes us sick even in the throat,” she said. “I live a block from the stream. Today, it has no smell. There are not many factories in the area, although there are warehouses.”
Another resident, Maria Ducomls, told AFP that industries regularly dump waste into the canal, leading to repeated instances of discolouration. “I have seen it coloured differently in the past—bluish, a little green, pink, a little lilac, with grease on top,” she said.
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