Activists dye River Limmat green in Zurich

Around 30 demonstrators floated down the bright green river in central Zurich between the Münster and Rathaus bridges on Tuesday. Keystone / Unbekannt

Environmental activists poured green dye into the river flowing through Switzerland’s biggest city on Tuesday in protest at “the impending collapse of our ecosystem”. 

The police are reportedly investigating the incident in the centre of Zurich. NZZ reportedExternal link that, based on initial findings, the city police said there was no danger to the public. 

The environmental group Extinction Rebellion ZurichExternal link said on its Facebook page that it had been behind the action to draw attention to “impending collapse of the ecosystem and the toxic system in which we find ourselves”.

Around 30 demonstrators floated down the bright green river between the Münster and Rathaus bridges on Tuesday in protest. 

The group said the dye was “harmless uranine, which has the toxicity of table salt”. Uranine is a yellow, green fluorescent water-soluble dye, which is used to test leaks in walls, pipes and tanks.

The group said it will stage similar actions across the country over the next ten days. 

Zurich police said they have submitted a report to the city prosecutor’s office after investigating potential violations of the water protection act. The authorities are considering whether to lay preliminary charges against persons unknown.