Instagrammers Beware: The ‘Siberian Maldives’ Is Actually A Chemical Waste Dump

That amazingly blue lake you might be seeing all over Instagram of late? It might look incredible beautiful, but there’s more than meets the eye. A turquoise lake nicknamed the “Siberian Maldives” has gone viral, but a Russian company are now begging influencers to stay away.

The issue? It’s a man-made waste site for a power plant.

It turns out the lake, just outside Novosibirsk in Siberia, is actually an ash dump filled with harmful metal oxides. No, that blue tint isn’t the sky’s reflection. It’s the calcium salts and oxides of various metals in its water.

In a statement, the Siberian Generating Company said that although they recognise the lake is a “social media star”, it’s not safe. They warn that if you fall into the muddy lake, getting out of the reservoir alone is almost impossible.

Novosibirsk lake is a popular place for selfies, romantic snaps and even wedding photoshoots

One woman posing in a wedding dress with her husband by the lake wrote: “There is no limit to my happiness. How long have I wanted such a tender, sensual, memorable #lovestory. And it came true.”

Oh.

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A post shared by @zheleznova.marina on Jul 5, 2019 at 9:48pm PDT

Other people are posing with flamingo inflatables and even paddleboarding on the lake

Would you go to these lengths just for the sake of a selfie?

Header image: tweezer_nsk/Instagram