When a river in Russia turned completely red, locals in the city of Norilsk in Siberia wanted answers. Could Vladimir Putin be stepping up his executions?
Turns out the deep red color that looked like a million mafia hits took place up stream is actually the cause of metallurgy waste, according to CNN and other media outlets.
The largest producer of nickel, Norilsk Nickel, happens to be upstream. At first the company denied responsibility but later admitted that an overflow of one of their dikes occurred after a heavy rainfall, claiming the color was caused from iron salts, which presents no hazards to people or fauna.
In the days following the publication of images from the rural community north of Arctic, mystery swirled as to the cause of the discoloration. Some suspected contamination, others a possible algae bloom.
This is not the first time local residents have seen their river change colors so there were some sneaking suspicions as the region is a center for mining large deposits of nickel, copper and palladium.
You never know what color is coming next.