Tons of fish have died en masse in the iconic West Lake in Hanoi’s Tay Ho District, blanketing the area with a disgusting odor.

Local authorities said that over five metric tons of dead fish had been removed from the lake, which is bounded by Trich Sai, Nguyen Dinh Thi, and Thanh Nien Streets.

Rotting fish were spotted floating belly up near the lake’s banks on Friday.

The mass fish die-off started in mid-October, unleashing a foul smell. The situation has yet to improve.

A representative of Hanoi Sewerage and Drainage Company told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that workers at the firm have been collecting the fish on a daily basis.

So far, over five metric tons of fish carcasses have been gathered.

The West Lake management board blamed the mass fish death on seasonal change.

The city sees fish die-offs in the lake each year.

Nguyen Dinh Khuyen, chairman of the Tay Ho District administration, told Tuoi Tre on October 16 that the district would direct sewerage and drainage units to scoop dead fish from the lake after die-offs started in order to minimize the effect on locals and tourists.

The district is working on ways to avoid future mass deaths.

This is not the first time that West Lake, one of the city’s popular tourist attractions, has witnessed mass fish deaths. The lake was filled with dead fish in August last year.

Tons of rotting fish blanketed the surface of the lake in October and November 2022.

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