Millions of Spanish residents in Andorra and Catalonia fear they may have been poisoned by the government after the Valira river turned luminous green overnight.
The massive river was the cause of last year’s gastroenteritis outbreak, and now residents are worried that they may have been subject to mass government poisoning this time round.
The Express reports:
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Such was the unease caused by the green water, the Mayor of Seu d’Urgell was forced to issue a statement clarifying the cause.
Mayor Albert Batalla said: “It is a harmless, non-toxic and bio-degradable dye that has been used for water research”.
A statement released by the Andorran government added: “It is an action that has no impact beyond the visual.”
The dye was added to the water by Spain’s Ministry of Health as part of efforts to find the source of last year’s water pollution that left hundreds of people unwell.
The research is set to continue for a further eight weeks, although no more dye is expected to be used.
The outbreak, in early 2016, forced the closure of the Arinsal water bottling plant after it emerged the spring was contaminated with norovirus.
The closure meant more than 120,000 bottles had to be withdrawn from circulation by supplier Aigües del Pirineu.
