35 tons of dead fish appear in lake in China

By Faith Karimi, CNN
Updated 5:21 AM EDT, Sun May 8, 2016
Dead fish blanketed parts of a Chinese lake on Wednesday.
Dead fish blanketed parts of a Chinese lake on Wednesday.
PHOTO: Stringer/Imaginechina/Stringer - Imaginechina
(CNN) —  

At least 35 tons of dead fish appeared in a lake in southern China, leaving residents stunned.

The piles of fish washed up in a lake in Hainan province on Wednesday, Chinese state media reported.

Residents expressed concerns on pollution, but local authorities said the fish died as a result of salinity change.

Liu Chengliang was shortlisted for a series titled "Bulguksa."
Photos: Chinese photography gets greater recognition
Liu Chengliang was shortlisted for a series titled "Bulguksa."
PHOTO: Liu Chengliang
Maoyuan Cui was shortlisted for the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards for his landscapes in Hebei province.
Photos: Chinese photography gets greater recognition
Maoyuan Cui was shortlisted for the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards for his landscapes in Hebei province.
PHOTO: Maoyuan Cui
Fan Li has been shortlisted twice in this year
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Fan Li has been shortlisted twice in this year's contest and is a previous winner at the Sony World Photography Awards. This image is part of a series documenting the life of Tajiks, an ethnic minority living in Xinjiang province in China's far west.
PHOTO: Fan Li
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Zhe Zhu traced the origins of the Yangtze River in his project entitled "Wind and Water," which has been shortlisted in the "Environment" category.
PHOTO: Zhe Zhu
Yong An He focuses on wildlife and the illegal capturing of migratory birds for profit in China. He was shortlisted in the "Contemporary Issues" category.
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Yong An He focuses on wildlife and the illegal capturing of migratory birds for profit in China. He was shortlisted in the "Contemporary Issues" category.
PHOTO: Yong An He
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PHOTO: Li Feng
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Wang Lijun was shortlisted in the "Low Light" open (non-professional) category for this atmospheric image.
PHOTO: Wang Lijun
Longxiang Xie was shortlisted in the open contest for this photograph of Tibetan monks at the Langmu Temple in Gansu Province, during a heavy snowfall.
Photos: Chinese photography gets greater recognition
Longxiang Xie was shortlisted in the open contest for this photograph of Tibetan monks at the Langmu Temple in Gansu Province, during a heavy snowfall.
PHOTO: 龙湘 谢

The change in salinity levels likely occurred after a tide pushed the fish up farther into Hongcheng Lake in the city of Haikou, state-run People’s Daily reported.

Regional environment officials are still investigating.

It’s unclear what kind of fish it was, according to People’s Daily. It described it as the size of a half palm, saying residents had not seen that type of fish at the lake before.

Dozens of sanitation employees worked for hours to trash the fish, to prevent it from being sold to consumers.

CNN’s Sol Han contributed to this report