Shocking footage of thousands of dead sardines and anchovies washed up on the Coliumo peninsula in Chile's Bio Bio region are doing the rounds on the internet and has left scientists baffled.
The incident reportedly took place on Sunday when several morning walkers were shocked to see that the beach had apparently turned silver with thousands of dead fish lying on the shore.
Describing it as an unexplained natural phenomenon, environmental officials are investigating what could have caused the fish to die and are testing the water quality in the region.
Locals believe that the death of so many fish could be because of the low oxygen levels in deeper water that might have driven them to swim close to the shore for oxygen.
Several workers have been assigned to conduct a massive clean-up operation on the beach.
“We can’t bring down earthmovers (tractors) to clear the dead fish, as is usually the case when there is a clean up of seaweed on our coast. Here we can't do it. It has to be done with workers," the local mayor Ivonne Rivas told Euronews.