Shocked locals have discovered a bag containing 27 pairs of severed human hands in far eastern Russia.

The shocking find was made close to the city of Khabarovsk in Siberia, close to the border with China.

A local found one of the hands lying on the shore of a river, leading officers to a bag with the other hands inside.

Locals in Khabarovsk, in far east Siberia, discovered one hand sitting close to a popular fishing spot which led officers to the remaining 53 appendages

While nobody knows where the hands came from, one theory is that they were removed by body part dealers to stop police identifying the remains they were trying to sell

The hands were found near a popular fishing spot, but despite this locals said they had seen nothing suspicious.

There is 'mystery over who the sinister hands belonged to, when they were chopped off - and why', reported The Siberian Times.

Fingerprints were found on one hand, and the others are being checked.

One gruesome theory is that the hands could have been axed off as a punishment for theft.

The hands were discovered close to the Amur River which runs through the city of Khabarovsk

Another is that the hands were severed from dead bodies in a hospital - but it is unclear why this would happen.

One fear is that the corpses were illegally used for stealing body parts and the hands were cut to prevent bodies being identified afterwards.

Local media reported that next to the remains were found medical bandages and hospital-style plastic shoe covers.

'It is a sickening sight,' said a local source. Police have refused to comment.