Argentina channel on the outskirts of Buenos Aires becomes bright red

A channel in a suburb of the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires, became bright red on Thursday, alarming local residents.

The images and videos show the intensely colored water that flows to a estuary, the Río de la Plata, which limits with an ecological reserve.

Local media reports suggest that the color may have been caused by the discharge of the textile dye or by the chemical waste of a nearby tank.

The Ministry of Environment said in a statement that water samples from the Sarandí Canal had been taken to determine the cause of color change.

At the end of the afternoon, the color of the water had lost part of its intensity, the AFP news agency reported.

Residents have affirmed that many local companies eliminate toxic waste on the river route, which crosses a leather processing area and textile factories about 10 km (6 miles) from the center of the capital.

A resident, a woman named Silvia, told Local News Channel C5N that, although she has now turned red, “other times it was yellow, with an acid smell that gets sick even in the throat.”

“I live one block from the transmission. Today, it has no smell. There are not many factories in the area, although there are warehouses.”

Another resident, Maria Ducomls, told AFP Industries in the region dumping the waste in the water, and said that he had seen it colored differently in the past: “Bluish, a little green, pink, a little lilac, with fat in fat in the upper part “.