Fetid foam from polluted river plagues Colombian city

An immense layer of toxic foam has spilled and blown from a contaminated river into the Colombian city of Mosquera

MOSQUERA, Colombia -- An immense layer of toxic foam has spilled and blown from a contaminated river into the Colombian city of Mosquera, often breaking into cloudlike chunks that drift with the wind along streets and into yards.

Environmental authorities blame discharges from an industrial zone as well as household detergents whip up the fetid foam in the city some 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside Bogota, the capital.

Gonzalo Roa, who has lived in the Los Puentes neighborhood for 40 years, blamed the contamination for causing respiratory problems in children.

“We've had many years of this situation,” he said.