Thousands of animals have died overnight at a commercial fish farm in southern China 's Guangdong Province after the lake became polluted . More than 100 tonnes of dead fish were found floating in the water near Huizhou City on Friday morning by devastated farmer Mr Zhang . Workers had rushed to clear the lake , using plastic baskets and nets to scoop them out , creating a huge mountain of rotting fish on the shore . Thousands of fish , weighing 100 tonnes , have been found dead at a lake in Huizhou City in southern China 's Guangdong Province . A mountain of rotting fish : A team of people have been working to clear the dead fish from the water by piling them up on the nearby shore . Others were sent to spread 2.5 tons of edible salt to try and restore the chemical imbalance of the lake which had become contaminated with ammonia , reported The People 's Daily Online . It may save the few remaining live fish but Mr Zhang , who founded the business in 1996 , admitted he was not optimistic . The shock death of thousands of fish means he could be facing financial ruin . Staff at a commercial fish farm based at the lake found the water had been polluted with an excessive quantity of ammonia leading to the death of the fish . Mr Zhang believes the ammonia which polluted the lake and killed his fish came from a nearby farm which which had been using the chemical as fertiliser . While some employees worked hard to remove the thousands of dead animals from the lake in Huizhou City in southern China 's Guangdong Province . The farmer stands to lose over 1 million RMB ( £110,000 ) in potential sales , and claimed he would need at least a decade to recover . 'It 's the first time that my fish farming has had such a problem since I started in 1996 . I 'll need another ten years to make up for this loss , ' said Mr Zhang . 'It has taken me years to build the fish numbers up and my one source of income has vanished almost overnight . ' Mr Zhang claims the source of the ammonia may have been fertilizer being used at a nearby farm . Other workers spread 2.5 tons of edible salt to try and address the chemical imbalance and try to save the few live fish that remained . The lake had been turned into a commercial fish farm in 1996 by owner Zhang Feng who says the devastating loss will cost him over 1 million RMB ( £110,000 ) Two workers in protective waterproof trousers and jackets , help heave out another box of lost profits from the lake onto the shore . Bags upon bags of salt are emptied into a bucket ready to be poured into the water in an attempt to restore the chemical imbalance . The dead fish were discovered floating in the polluted lake on Friday morning by the devastated farmer who claims he is facing financial ruin .
Thousands of dead fish were found at a lake in Huizhou City in southern Guangdong Province 's China on Friday . Owner of a fish farm which operates from the lake says he found evidence the water was polluted with ammonia . He claims the loss of 100 tonnes of fish overnight will cost him over 1 million RMB ( £110,000 ) in potential sales . Employees are working to save any live animals by adding salt to the water to restore the chemical imbalance .