As many as 70 tonnes of dead fish have been collected from the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal in HCM City over the last two days according to a local official.
Director of the city's Department of Natural Resource and Environment, Nguyen Toan Thang, told the local media on May 18 afternoon that 250 workers and 54 canoes have been collecting dead fish since yesterday along the river and spraying chemicals to disinfect the water.
Most of the dead fish have been collected by this morning but some parts of the canal still had a rotten smell.
On May 17 afternoon, Director of HCM City's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nguyen Phuoc Trung said that initial investigations showed that the fish died following heavy rainfall on Monday afternoon when sewage run into the canal along with rainwater.
The 8.7-km Nhieu Loc- Thi Nghe canal which runs through five districts of District 1, District 3, Phu Nhuan District, Binh Thanh District and Tan Binh District, received a facelift in 2012 following serious pollution.
While the canal is one of Ho Chi Minh City’s new icons, it is also one of the most polluted waterways.
