Video shows river turn deep red color in Argentina. Residents say it's not the first time.
Videos from a suburb of Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires showing a bright red river has drawn international attention and reignited local fears of chemical dumping.
Local residents told Argentinian news outlet C5N that this is not the first time an odd color has been seen in the Sarandí River, located in the municipality of Avellaneda. The area has multiple tanneries, which use chemicals to turn animal skins into leather, according to the Associated Press.
'My husband left our house and said that it was all red," one local woman told C5N. "Although it's red now, other times it's been yellow, with an acidic smell that hurts our throat."
The Argentinian Environment Ministry said they have taken water samples from the river to determine the cause of the water's color change on Thursday, according to the BBC.
Officials from the Avellaneda municipality suspect the presence of aniline in water samples taken on Friday morning, according to LA NACION. Aniline is a toxic substance that is used in dyes and medicines. Officials said they had lodged a complaint to the Buenos Aires province water authority.
Maria Ducomls told LA NACION the water has been tainted in various colors many times.
'I have lived here all my life. Today we have this, the red water. It's been gray, it's been green, it's been a kind of violet, blueish,' she said. 'It's been brown and all types of oils show up at the top [of the water].'
Ducomls also said residents have been lodging complaints regarding the contaminated river, but have been repeatedly been told there is no reason to worry.
Images show the Sarandi River's water with an intense color red flowing into an estuary, the Rio de la Plata.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: See video of deep red river in Argentina as locals fear chemical dump
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