River of red wine flows through Portuguese town after distillery accident

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LISBON: Following an accident at a distillery in the small Portuguese town of Sao Lourenco do Bairro, a river of red wine was seen flowing through the streets there, the New York Post reported.

The incident happened when barrels carrying 600,000 gallons of liquor unexpectedly collapsed.

Soon the incident went viral and the videos posted on social media showed the red liquid running down a steep hill in Sao Lourenco do Bairro on Sunday, which has a population of about 2,000,  according to New York Post.

The leak was so large that the wine that spilled might have filled an Olympic-sized swimming pool, causing an environmental alert.

Officials immediately sprang into action, trying to halt the wine before it turned the Certima river into wine. The Anadia Fire Department shut off the flood and moved it away from the river, where it ran into a nearby field, New York Post reported citing the local media.

According to firefighters, the wine flooded a basement at a residence near the distillery as well.