The case of the toxic dump that & # 39; instagramers & # 39; have confused with a dream lake

Novosibirsk, the third largest city in Russia and located in the center of Siberia, it's the last place where nobody expects to find crystal clear waters turquoise, such as those appearing in Mediterranean tourist commercials or advertising photos of stations All inclusive in the Caribbean. So, when someone found a lake with these features and posted a photo on Instagram, this place immediately became a place of pilgrimage for swimmers and curious people in the city who wanted to know if this paradise was real.

From there, a little sensation on Instagram: photos of newly married couples kissing on his shore, swimmers with colorful inflatable unicorns crossing his transparent waters and embraced by the sun and aspiring influencers posing in a bikini or doing yoga on his sand bars. Now the turn comes: this lake is not even a lake. It is a pond that will give the toxic remains of a power station thermal energy nearby that supplies electricity to the entire city of Novosibirsk (1.6 million inhabitants). Among these remains, charred coal ashes in the factory.

This paradise is ready for photography and hashtag it is actually a metal oxide discharge harmful to the skin only by contact with it. Its waters are turquoise, in fact, because of a chemical reaction.

The warning was given by the Siberian generating company, alarmed by the popularity of the place in social networks, which has earned the nickname "Siberian Maldives" and has your own profile in the social network. His name is accompanied by an emoji with sunglbades, another from a tropical island, another from a palm tree and another from a smile.

Blogger Stanislav Razhev said Siberian weather that "thousands of citizens of Novosibirsk and tourists come to the place by car, horseback or bicycle with beer and meat for a barbecue". Some of his visitors said that the water smelled good, like "laundry detergent". Although the Siberian production company has denied any risk of radiation, it warns that may cause allergic reactions in swimmers and it is also a more serious danger because of its marshy bottom: It can be difficult for an occasional swimmer to get out of the water he's starting to sink into his sand.

Since neither the proximity of the thermal power plant (whose chimneys are visible from the tallest buildings in Novosibirsk and the lake) nor its smell of detergent seems to stop the courage Instagramers when it's about taking a good picture to win love, the factory administration decided to close the roads leading to the lake. "It's not a beach," they warned in a statement. Lesson learned? When a landscape looks too good to be true, it may be a lie.