On Aug. 12, authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kasaï province noticed the Kasai River had turned red. Witnesses said the bodies of hippos and dead fish were seen floating in the river.
“We have taken samples of water, fish, and bones from dead aquatic animals and sent them to the veterinary lab of Kinshasa to determine what substance is threatening the ecosystem,” said the governor of Kasaï, Dieudonné Piemé.
The pollution was first detected in a tributary of the Kasai River, the Tshikapa, which rises from headwaters in Angola before flowing through the provincial capital that bears its name. The Kasai itself is a tributary of the Congo River.
According to Governor Piemé, the pollution originates from a major spill at three mining facilities across the border in Angola: Camaxia-Camagico, Luo et Catoca.
Read more:
Toxic spill at Angola diamond mine pollutes Congo River tributary in DRC
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