Authorities Investigate Claim Couple Dyed Waterfall Blue for Gender Reveal

Police in Brazil are investigating allegations that a pregnant couple poured blue dye into a waterfall at a popular tourist spot as part of a gender reveal party.

According to a report from local news source Exame, the Public Ministry of Mato Grosso (MPMT) confirmed it will look into the circumstances surrounding the incident which allegedly occurred on Sunday at a waterfall in Tangará da Serra which is part of the Queima Queima Pé river.

The river is popular with tourists visiting the Mato Grosso region and also serves as the main water source for the nearby town of Tangará da Serra.

Gender reveal parties are becoming commonplace, but the search to find increasingly inventive ways to announce the baby's sex has come at a significant cost in some instances.

Last year, a California couple was hit with criminal charges after a pyrotechnic device they were using to reveal their baby's gender ended up igniting the devastating El Dorado wildfire.

In another incident, two people in Mexico died when a plane being used for a gender-reveal stunt crashed into the sea. A father-to-be from New York state was also killed when a device he was building for their gender-reveal party exploded.

The investigation into this latest incident was sparked by the appearance of a video on social media appearing to show an expectant couple using the water source to reveal the gender of their unborn child.

In the video, the unnamed couple can be seen sharing a warm embrace among a sea of pink and blue balloons close to the bank of the river.

A waterfall is visible behind them, with the water cascading down it appearing an unnaturally vibrant shade of blue.

The couple originally shared the clip on Instagram but subsequently took it down after receiving negative feedback from followers online.

Despite the removal, alternative versions of the footage have since surfaced on Reddit and Twitter, with viewers reacting furiously to the clip.

Commenting on the Reddit post, which has been upvoted over 31,000 times, one viewer said: "Somehow these are becoming increasingly less about the gender reveal and more about creative ways to harm the environment."

Another, meanwhile, wrote: "How arrogant and stupid can people be."

Exame reported that the MPMT confirmed on Monday they had received a complaint regarding the alleged incident, and the case was forwarded to the Tangará da Serra Prosecutor's Office for investigation.

In a statement published by local news source G1, the Secretary of State for the Environment of Mato Grosso (SEMA) also confirmed it would be investigating the incident to determine if any environmental damage had been done.

Six officials, including two from SEMA and four from the municipality of Tangará da Serra, have visited the site to try and ascertain what damage, if any, was incurred as a result of the alleged stunt.