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Locals Horrified After Russian River Turns Red Due To Mystery Pollution

Locals Horrified After Russian River Turns Red Due To Mystery Pollution

It's the second river in Russia to turn red from pollution this year as the country struggles to keep its waters clean.

Simon Catling

Simon Catling

Disturbing footage from Russia has shown that one of the country's rivers has turned red due to a mystery pollution that has disturbed locals and social media users alike.

east2west news

Iskitimka River in the south of the country, to the north east of Kazakhstan, turned beetroot red following what's believed to be a major leak of a mystery substance. It's bad enough that's it's put off the region's ducks from swimming in the "toxic water", according to locals, with officials in the Kemerovo region as yet unable to find what's caused the spillage.

One local commented, "It's like borscht soup, but probably more poisonous," adding that "the water looks toxic."

Another pointed out: "There are no ducks in the river, all are on the bank."

According to environmental officials, the red-coloured water has come from a blocked drain, but no one yet knows what the red substance that's polluting the waters is.

east2west news

"The city storm drainage system is a possible source of contaminated water," said deputy governor Andrei Panov of Kemerovo. Police are reportedly seeking to "identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice," he added.

More than half a million people could be affected by the spillage, which has also flowed into the larger, 514 mile long Tom River.

Resident Elena Dubrovskaya said: "Today it is not a river, it is like cranberry jelly."

More distressingly for Russians, this isn't the only river that's turned red recently after it was revealed in the spring that a tributary that runs through the town of Naro-Fominsk, south west of the capital Moscow, also turned red after a chemical release.

east2west news

The Gvozdnya River suddenly turned red and similarly the blame was put on "waste waters" flowing from drainage pipes. Understandably locals complained they were given no details as to the cause of the pollution.

A spokesman for the region's ecological ministry said a local company had made a large and sudden "emission of an unknown red-coloured substance."

"Waste waters got into river through drainage pipes

"The head of the company was summoned to the ministry of ecology to assess circumstances of the violation" he added.

Water pollution is a serious problem for Russia; aside from rivers turning red there have also been stories of people falling ill after swimming in waters within the country's borders.

For instance, authorities were forced to tell people to stay away from the coast of Kamchatka region earlier this year after swimmers complained of suffering from sore throats, worsening eyesight, nausea, vomiting and fever after getting in the water.

"The water... has changed color and become unsafe for people's health. For several weeks, people who were in contact with the water have experienced negative consequences," said Greenpeace in a statement.

Featured Image Credit: east2west news

Topics: World News, News