In a striking and unsettling event, a canal in Buenos Aires turned a vivid crimson colour on Thursday, raising alarms among residents.
The discoloured water, emanating a strong, unpleasant odour, flowed into the Rio de la Plata estuary near a vital ecological reserve. La Verdad, a community newspaper, mentioned that residents were troubled by the “overwhelming” odour from the water.
The specific cause of the water’s dramatic change remains unclear. However, local media speculate that it may result from illegally disposing of textile dyes or chemical waste from a local facility. The suspicion also falls on adjacent leather and textile industries known for their history of discharging pollutants into the Sarandi canal, which empties into the Rio de la Plata—a waterway Argentina and Uruguay share.
Maria Ducomls, a resident of Avellaneda, described the shocking scene to AFP, “The smell woke us up. By daylight, the river was completely red, stained throughout. It resembled a river of blood; it’s dreadful.”
Ducomls also expressed her family’s distress, awoken by the pungent odour and frustrated by the lack of explanation despite repeated complaints. “We’ve seen it in shades of blue, green, pink, and purple with a greasy sheen that resembles oil,” she noted.
“Other times, it turned yellow with an acidic odour that even caused throat irritation,” another local disclosed to the BBC.
The Argentine Environment Ministry has reacted by collecting water samples from the Sarandi Canal for a comprehensive analysis to pinpoint the cause of the red discolouration.
