Japan’s sea, known for its often clear waters, has turned a macabre shade of red after a beer factory spill.
Residents of the Okinawa city of Nago woke up on Tuesday to search out the harbor area looking quite “venomous”.
Video shared on Twitter showed a large body of water with a deep red color, which alarmed many.
“Red looks poisonous but relieved to learn it’s just a food coloring and doubtless won’t cause serious damage,” a Twitter user wrote.
The normally clear blue water modified color after a brewery belonging to Orion Breweries Ltd suffered a leak.
The corporate said water used for cooling, which incorporates a liquid called propylene glycol – coloured red with food coloring – leaked, turning the water a striking red.
The brewery issued a statement apologizing for “causing tremendous trouble and worry” to nearby residents and other stakeholders, Bloomberg reported.
“We consider that leaking cooling water made its way through the rain gutters into the river and as a result coloured the ocean red,” the company said.
He said he would take steps to stop a reoccurrence of the leak, which was plugged up at 9:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
Based on Okinawa times no “serious environmental impact” of the spill is anticipated.
Propylene glycol, which can be used as a food additive and in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries amongst others, is “generally recognized as protected,” in line with the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.