COLUMBIA (WACH) -- Swimmers taking a dip in a section of the Congaree River Tuesday came out of the water not only wet, but with what appears to be tar stuck to parts of their body.
You can't see it from the surface, so it came as a surprise to Columbia resident John Northcutt when he kneeled down in the middle of the river and stood up with his knees covered in, what he believes to be tar.
Other swimmers in the area say large pieces of the black sticky substance can be picked up from the bottom of the river.
"My first thoughts were you got little children out here swimming and stuff," Northcutt exclaims. "You got animals out here that people bring their animals and dogs and stuff out here swimming in this stuff. And like you see what's going on in the gulf, this has nothing to do with the gulf,"
WACH Fox News contacted the Department of Health and Environmental Control. Officials there say there's no evidence of the black substance staining the rocks and vegetation, but they're still investigating the area.
WACH Fox News will continue to follow this story and bring you the very latest.
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