More than 2,000 dead pigs floating in a Shanghai river, which is a major drinking water source, have triggered panic among residents and officials in the bustling metropolis.
Local government workers have been pressed into service to fish out the carcasses as authorities investigate the reason behind the deaths.
Preliminary test reports said that the dead pigs floating down a river in Songjiang District were found killed by porcine circovirus that caused an epidemic disease that took a high toll on pigs in recent years.
"The virus is not a zoonosis and it will not infect humans," a state media report said.
Local media reports said the pigs could have been dumped in the river from Shanghai's neighbouring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Officials say water supplies have not been affected so far and they are closely testing samples from the river.
Land deal protests
A village committee chief was among the 10 people arrested after protests over a controversial land deal in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong turned violent.
Besides arresting local officials and suspending a local area Communist Party of China (CPC) chief, authorities were forced to cancel the land deal that triggered the protests.
{{/usCountry}}Besides arresting local officials and suspending a local area Communist Party of China (CPC) chief, authorities were forced to cancel the land deal that triggered the protests.
{{/usCountry}}Anger over the deal in the neighbouring Shangpu and Mianhu townships was simmering for days but erupted in violence on Sunday when thousands of policemen clashed with villagers, lobbed tear gas shells and beat up demonstrators.
An unknown number of people were injured in the clash while dozens of vehicles were damaged; angry residents stopped authorities for days from towing away the burnt, broken vehicles as a mark of protest.