Influencers Are Getting Sick After Mistaking Toxic Waste Dump For A Beautiful Lake

Is there anything influencers wouldn’t do for some imaginary internet points? After all, they’ve taken selfies in the Holocaust Memorial Site and organized sleazy photoshoots in Chernobyl before without giving it as much as a second thought. And now they’re back with more ridiculous nonsense. This time they’re taking dips in a majestic-looking blue lake in Galicia, Northern Spain – only it’s no regular lake. The dreamy blue lagoon is actually a toxic waste dump and some influencers found it out the hard way.

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This small lake actually used to be a tungsten mine and the beautiful azure color is due to a heave chemical contamination.

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Some influencers who decided to take a swim there have actually been hospitalized with skin rashes and stomach problems.

One Spanish newspaper reported of someone getting an allergic reaction two weeks after swimming in the lake – although they said the photo was worth it. Go figure.

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The lake, named Monte Neme, was last used during WWII and has been abandoned since. The site has recently gained attention after the local tourism board used pictures of it to promote tourism in the region. “This is a mining landscape, which is devastated and unrestored but Galicia used it to promote tourism in the region as if it were an idyllic landscape,” said environmental journalist Ramón Varela in a recent interview with Euronews.

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“At the weekend, it’s a kind of pilgrimage and it’s a dangerous place because it’s a landscape caused by industrial liquids,” said Ramón. “On the one hand, it is an area that’s easy to access and, on the other, the slopes are risky, reaching heights up to 30 meters.”

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Salvemos Cabana, an association aiming to protect the natural and cultural heritage in the area, wants local government to limit access to the lake and provide more warnings.

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According to Dr. Manuel Ferreiro from the emergency department of the University Hospital of Coruña, a short swim can leave people with minor skin irritations but swimming for longer periods can cause serious problems. “If they take a bath in a timely manner, the most likely consequences are ocular and irritative problems, irritation of the ocular mucous membranes and skin irritations,” said the doctor in an interview with Cadena Cope.

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Accidentally swallowing the water can even cause digestive problems, vomiting and diarrhea.

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We get it – it looks cool. But is getting a nice picture really worth the rash and diarrhea? Well, apparently for some it is.

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Now, we have to defend the influencers a bit – the warning signs around the lake are not particularly full of information. Basically, they’re just warning you not to fall in – not much info about why you shouldn’t swim there is provided.