Mysterious powdery substance falls on Roscommon lake, cars and houses

A mysterious yellow powdery substance has fallen on a local lake, cars and houses in the Gorthaganny area in West Roscommon.

MEP Luke 'Ming' Flanagan posted a message on X (formerly twitter) this morning expressing his devastation over the incident at the popular lake amenity which he and his family use on a regular basis.

Speaking to the Roscommon Herald this morning at the lakeside, the MEP said everyone was “gutted and distraught” at what has happened. 

"There is a yellow track the whole way around the lake and has streaked right out into the middle of the lake.

“The initial thought was that it was paint that was dumped in the water but the exact same coloured dust is on people’s cars. I am hearing that it is now being found in other areas. This appears to be airborne whatever it is.

“Everyone around here now is saying that it is has fallen on their houses, it’s on cars and it’s in people’s front yards.

“We have taken some of it out of the lake and once you have it in your hand for a minute, it dries out and turns into a powder. It's baffling, it appears to have fallen from the sky," he said.

Mr Flanagan said that there was no evidence of any criminal behaviour showing up on CCTV after footage was checked.

Local gardaí are currently at the scene and it’s expected that the relevant authorities will now investigate to establish the source of the odourless substance.

It's understood that water samples have been taken from the lake and will be examined by council officials.

(Photographs: MEP Luke 'Ming' Flanagan)