Section of Yangtze River in China turns red

CHONGQING, China -- The coloration of a section of the Yangtze River in China's Chongqing Municipality may be caused by the silts brought about by upstream floods, according to the initial investigation of local environmental protection bureau on Friday, September 7th.

On Thursday afternoon, residents found the section of the Yangtze River turning red while the adjacent Jialing River still remained clear.

Many local fishermen had to fish on the Jialing River due to the large amount of silts in the Yangtze River.

However, some elderly boatmen said the coloration of the river is quite normal as similar phenomenon also occurred in previous years.

Upon receiving residents' inquiries, the environmental protection bureau in Yuzhong District immediately launched an investigation from Chaotianmen to the Yangtze River's upstream. They have ruled out the possibilities of industrial pollution or sewage breaches as there are no industrial plants or sewage near the vicinity.

Meanwhile, the environmental authorities in the Jiulongpo and Banan districts had not found any illegal waste disposals into the river's upstream.

The environmental protection bureau at the municipal level has dispatched an investigation team on Friday afternoon to test the water quality to provide a final and authoritative conclusion.

Further investigations are still underway, according to officials.