The Yangtze River stunned residents of the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing when it woke up last Wednesday dyed blood red. Confusion reigns and it is not yet known what is the cause of this color in the longest river in China and there is no shortage of the most disparate hypotheses.

Many of the inhabitants attributed it to the effects of contamination from the enormous industrial activity in which the region lives. The authorities, through the NTD television network, ruled out the finding of evidence of toxic spills, although different groups of citizens question the veracity of the investigation.

According to the Chongqing Environmental Protection Office, the explanation would lie in the sand. Official reports say that the floods suffered in various sections of the river have removed an excess of sand, which for them would explain the bright red color of its waters.

Other inhabitants related it in the first place to a recent earthquake in Yunan that caused nearly 100 deaths. Nor is there a lack of those who link this phenomenon to apocalyptic messages.

It should be borne in mind that it is not the first time that the waters of a river in China have turned red. In 2011 it happened in the Jian River, but on that occasion it was shown that it was pollution produced by the dumping of illegal dyes into the water.

The longest river in China, the Yangtze, woke up a few days ago tinged with a bright red color in the section that crosses the city of Chongqin, in the southwest of the eastern country. The authorities informed that the strange phenomenon is due to the fact that, due to recent floods, excess sand was removed. However, some citizens associate it with an earthquake in Yunan while others associate it with the pollution produced by the great industrial activity. Another group goes a little further and links it to the Apocalypse.

Meanwhile, in Chongqing, fishermen continue to fish in the red waters without really finding a scientific explanation for the reason for this color.