According to media reports it’s not the first time the river has changed colour. (Image: Getty)
A river has been likened to a “stream of blood” after it turned red, prompting concern from locals.
Photos and footage of the Sarandi canal, in the municipality of Avellaneda, show the river’s striking hue.
The region’s environment department said it was investigating, and that samples had been taken for testing.
It said in a statement: “On the morning of Thursday, February 6, we received a report that the waters of the Sarandí canal had been dyed red,” per .
“Our mobile analysis laboratory was sent to the area and two litres of water were taken as samples for basic chemical analysis and liquid chromatography in order to determine what organic substance was responsible for the discoloration.
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Sarandi watercourse (Image: Getty)
Sarandi watercourse (Image: Getty)
“It is thought to be some kind of organic colouring,” the department added.
A local resident, María Ducomls, told the news agency: “It looks like a stream of blood; we have never seen it like this.”
She told Agence France-Presse: “You don’t need to be an inspector to realise just how polluted the poor Sarandí creek is.”
According to local media reports it’s not the first time the river has changed colour.
[REPORT]
Sarandi watercourse (Image: Getty)
One local told la Nacion: “I have lived here all my life. Today, we have this red water.
“It has been grey, it has been green, it has been violet, bluish… very brown.”
Another resident told Pagina 12: “On other days we have a thick yellow layer that left the top hard and had an acidic smell.”
An AFP journalist reported that by late Thursday afternoon the colour of the waters had faded.