Things certainly sound like they're getting biblical in Argentina. That darn Moses is at it again turning a river red with blood. Okay, so it's not actually blood. Although, that would be a late game plot twist.
But it's definitely an environmental concern, and it's not pleasant for local residents forced to live next to the canal. On Thursday, the Argentina river mysteriously transformed to bright red, straight out of the Bible. Locals were understandably freaked out. But it turns out that the color isn't the worst thing about it. The canal also developed a very strong and powerful odor.
Just how strong? It woke someone up from their sleep.
"The smell woke us up. In the daytime, when we looked at this side of the river, it was completely red, all stained," Avellaneda resident Maria Ducomls told AFP. "It looked like a river covered in blood, it's horrible."
A River Runs Through
Ducomls has lived near the river for more than 30 years. She highlights the ecological concerns about the body of water. She says that companies have regularly polluted the river.
"It's terrible, you don't have to be an inspector to see how much pollution the poor Sarandi River suffers from," said Ducomls. According to Ducomls, factories regularly use the body of water as a dumping site.
"We have seen the river in other colors — we've seen it bluish, greenish, pink, purplish, with grease on top that looks like oil," she said. Argentina's Ministry of the Environment have taken water samples from the canal. They believe than an "organic dye" may be the cause for the changing of color in the water. However, we'll see what their tests determine.
But Ducomls is far from the only local to blame textile factories for the mess. Another local says the river is often yellow with pollutants and acidic.
"Other times it was yellow, with an acidic smell that makes us sick even in the throat," a local named Silvia told the BBC. "I live a block from the stream. Today, it has no smell. There are not many factories in the area, although there are warehouses."
