A doctor from Pacific 24-Hour Hospital in Mabvuku has dismissed claims that the red fluid flowing in a trench in the suburb is blood.
According to a report in the H-Metro, a blood-like fluid has been flowing in a trench in the high-density suburb since Saturday last week.
The blood-like fluid was reportedly first seen on Saturday at Kamunhu Shopping Centre.
A resident who spoke to the publication said at first they thought it was blood but now believe it was probably a chemical. Said the resident:
We are not sure if this is blood, but at first, we thought someone could have been attacked by robbers.
I now doubt that it is blood because if it was blood, there would have been an unbearable stench and there would also have been swarms of flies in the trench.
Rains have been pouring for the past few days, but never cleared this fluid.
If it’s a chemical, that means whoever dumped it must be made accountable for such pollution.
However, Dr. Mike Mandaza from Pacific 24-Hour Hospital, which is close to the trench, told H-Metro that someone could have disposed of dye, or some other liquid in the drain, to scare residents. He said:
I found time to visit the place and saw that it is not blood at all.
Blood clots, but this liquid doesn’t clot.
Blood changes colour to dark brown within 30 minutes, but this liquid remains red.
Blood has a heavy smell and attracts flies, but this liquid doesn’t.
Within 24 hours, blood decomposes and attracts maggots, but this liquid has remained fresh.
This is a dye; a chemical made from water and dye powders.
I want to believe that someone with the wrong intention poured the chemical as a way to scare residents.
The person was also quick to find ways of informing the media to achieve their desired results.
Scores of people from in and around Mabvuku rushed to witness the “blood” after some residents had stumbled on the reddish substance last Saturday.
Some claimed that the substance was the blood of a 23-year-old woman who mysteriously went missing in 2011.