Why this river was turned fluorescent green

Political activists have dyed a Swiss river bright green to highlight the dangers of a nearby ammunitions depot that is being disassembled and could contaminate the area’s drinking water.

The action was performed by members of the ‘Jungen Gruenliberalen’ (‘Young Green Liberals’) at the River Aare just outside the Swiss capital Bern.

The activists reportedly put the disodium salt form of fluorescein, an organic dye also known as uranine, into the river which turned the surface bright green instead of its normal blue-brown colour.

Their intention was to highlight the risk posed by a former ammunition depot of the Swiss army in Mitholz.

The young activists cited an expert report which found that the on-site ammunition disassembly could potentially contaminate the ground and drinking water.

The group chose the anniversary of the Mitholz explosion of 19th December 1947 to make their statement, referring to the time when one of the largest non-nuclear explosions occurred, blowing up the ammo depot and destroying half the village of Mitholz, killing nine people.

According to the Young Green Liberals, the Swiss Government is not doing enough to prevent a new catastrophe.

“The Mitholz ammunition depot is an incredibly dangerous powder keg,” Voegeli said.

He warned that if it is not cleared soon, the explosives become more reactive, increasing the chance of a new disaster.

“That means that the likelihood of everything going up in flames is growing by the day,” he said.

Bern Cantonal Police spokesman Dino Dal Farra said that several people called the cops to report the unusual green-coloured water.

According to the police, several people suspected of being involved into the water colouring have been questioned.

Their first findings showed that the substance poured into the water is indeed harmless for the environment.

– Australscope