Watch as chilling footage shows major river mysteriously turn BLOOD RED – but officials insist: ‘You can drink it’

WATCH this eerie footage of a immense stream that mysteriously turned humor red.

The waters of the Rimac River moving done Lima, the superior of Peru, took connected the unsettling hue - but officials insisted it was inactive harmless to drink.

Locals and officials were alarmed by the ominous alteration to the river, which is the country's astir important h2o source.

The video shows onlookers staring down successful horror from bridges astatine the discoloured h2o rushing beneath them connected Tuesday.

The full stream - tens of metres wide - had blushed agleam red.

The improvement was filmed betwixt the Trujillo Bridge and the Chabuca Granda avenue successful the centre of Lima.

Witnesses had nary mentation for the striking show and took to societal media to stock their surprise.

One wrote: “I conscionable passed the yellowish enactment and the Rímac River is reddish astatine this point!”

Another said: “This is however the Rímac River is red," alongside footage of the scene.

Maria Angelica Villasante, an biology expert, explained that the colour alteration was not the enactment of a "curse", arsenic immoderate speculation suggested.

Rather, she believes it is simply a effect of coloured pollutants flowing into the h2o from concern plants successful the area.

There are astatine slightest 30 operating mines successful the surrounding Santa Eulalia basin and much than 500 drainage pipes that travel straight into the river.

Maria believes discharges from these mines are what dyed the h2o crimson.

The section h2o supplier, Sedapal, acknowledged the unusual colour change, but insisted that the h2o was inactive harmless to drink.

The institution said that "the postulation and attraction of h2o successful our plants is continues arsenic normal, strictly complying with prime standards".

Addressing the colouration, it said: “The alteration successful the colour of the h2o occurs downstream of our intake gates , truthful it does not correspond a hazard for the proviso process.”

It reaffirmed its committedness to supplying “quality drinking h2o to the population, ensuring a harmless and reliable service".

The National Water Authority said it had visited the stream and taken samples.

It promised: "We volition proceed to fulfil our supervisory relation by measuring the prime of h2o from earthy sources to present the results to the competent authorities, and if immoderate alteration is found, the corresponding actions volition beryllium taken arsenic soon arsenic possible."

The Rimac River is 160km-long and divides the bluish and confederate regions of the capital.

A similar alarming sight confused Aussies successful December.

Sydney locals discovered humor reddish seawater foaming astir a woody pier successful the metropolis - baffling adjacent the experts.