Industrial waste turns Patagonian lake completely pink in colour

In an alarming situation, there was massive pollution at Patagonian lake with a pink industrial fluid, sparking controversy among officials.

The origin of the conflict was the permission granted to fisheries companies to dump waste in the Laguna de Corfo, 30 kilometres away from the Chubut town of Trelew.

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Federico Restrepo, a Colombian engineer, environmentalist and virologist and a local resident, told AFP, "The colouring is due to the preservative, sodium sulphide, an anti-bacterial agent which also contaminates the water table of the Chubut River and the water supply of cities in the region. The law orders the treatment of such liquids before being dumped".

Juan Micheloud, in charge of environmental control for the province, said, "An agreement was made with a company (transporting effluent from the fisheries) to dump liquids into the Laguna de Corfo. The pink colour does no harm and disappears in a few days".