Beijing river clogged with dead fish

Up to 1,000 kilograms of dead fish were found floating in a Beijing river on Wednesday that authorities say died of thermal discharge from a local power plant.

The rotting fish clogging the Tonghui River, combined with large amounts of floating garbage, released a pungent smell as they baked in the summer heat, reported Legal Mirror Thursday.

"We've found an increasing number of fish floating on the river since Wednesday morning," said an officer at the Tonghui River Management Office surnamed Zhang.

The fish died from a combination of heated waste water from a nearby power plant and the summer temperatures, said Zhang.

"I estimate the temperature of the water exceeded 40 C," said Zhang.

The fish were identified as crucian carp all around 10 centimeters in length, which authorities suspect may have been released into the river by well-meaning locals.

The 9-kilometer-long Tonghui River flows through Beijing's Tongzhou district and Chaoyang district.