Some of the large quantity of dead fish and shrimp found on the Qinhuai River have been sold to local agricultural bazaars in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, Yangtze Evening News reported.

Residents living along the river were recently found catching the dead fish and shrimp and then transporting it to local bazaars to sell, the newspaper said.

The dead fish and shrimp recently appeared at the beginning of the week on the surface of a 10-kilometer stretch of the upper reaches of the Qinhuai River, the mother river Nanjing, and its source river Jurong River.

Residents said the fish and shrimp were actually killed by industrial waste waters, which had been illegally dumped by chemical factories along the river banks.

The local environment protection department and police are investigating.