A canal mysteriously turned red, raising concerns amongst locals because the water also emitted an unpleasant odor.
The incident unfolded in Argentina on Thursday, with residents understandably shocked that the local river looked like it had turned to blood.
“The smell woke us up. In the daytime, when we looked at this side of the river, it was completely red, all stained,” said Avellaneda resident Maria Ducomls in an interview with AFP.
“It looked like a river covered in blood, it’s horrible.”
Authorities have launched an investigation into the sudden discoloration of the Sarandí Canal, a waterway located in a suburb of Buenos Aires.
The province’s Ministry of the Environment has collected water samples to determine the cause, with initial suspicions pointing to an “organic dye”.
Local residents, however, suspect pollution from nearby leather and textile factories, which are known to discharge dye and chemical waste into the canal.
“Other times it was yellow, with an acidic smell that makes us sick even in the throat,” a local resident named Silvia told the BBC.
Ducomls added that the canal has changed colors before. “We have seen the river in other colors — we’ve seen it bluish, greenish, pink, purplish, with grease on top that looks like oil.”
The Sarandí Canal ultimately flows into the Río de la Plata, a major waterway between Argentina and Uruguay.
Investigations are currently ongoing to determine the cause, with pollution being the likely candidate.
This isn't the only story of a body of water changing color in South America, also this next example will leave you in disbelief.
One couple in Brazil decided to dye an entire waterfall blue for their gender reveal.
In a viral video shared on Reddit, family members were seen celebrating while dark blue water cascaded down the waterfall behind them.
While intended to be a joyous moment for the couple, many social media users condemned the act as reckless and harmful to the environment.
One user questioned: "Why does it need to be so extra and so polluting? What is wrong with just a cake?"
Another wrote: "Let's not only [pollute] a natural, beautiful waterfall and all the water flowing down it into the lake/river, but let's also set [off] smoke bombs. All of this in some actual nature. Plant life and wildlife all around. Oh, throw in a bunch of balloons too that we probably won't clean up and just leave here."
SEMA (a Brazilian environmental protection agency) confirmed to PEOPLE that following an investigation, a relative of the couple was fined 10,000 Brazilian reals (about $1,933).
The relative told SEMA that he was responsible for launching a substance called "Blue Lake", which is used for dying bodies of water and swimming pools, into the Brazilian waterfall.