Authorities in Venice, Italy, are investigating after a patch of bright green water surfaced on Sunday morning in the historic Grand Canal.
“Some residents near the Rialto Bridge reported seeing a patch of phosphorescent green liquid appear in Venice’s Grand Canal this morning.” “The prefect has called an emergency meeting with the police to investigate the source of the liquid,” Veneto regional president Luca Zaia tweeted.
The local prefect spokesperson said that they immediately took water samples, reviewed CCTV surveillance tape and asked local gondolier pilots and boat drivers if they saw anything suspicions, before calling an emergency meeting to investigate the cause of the green water, noting that no environmental group had claimed responsibility, CNN reported.
The verdant blob was first noticed around 9:30 a.m. CET and grew slowly, according to multiple images posted on social media, which showed gondolas, water taxis and water bus boats skimming through the emerald substance.
Italy’s fire brigade tweeted that they were assisting with providing “samples and technical assistance” to the ARPA Veneto, the regional agency that oversees the environmental state of the Grand Canal, which are “conducting analysis to establish the nature of the substance in the water.”