A Chinese farmer from Baisha town in Guangxi, China, awoke to a shock on Tuesday, when he discovered that tens of thousands of his fish had disappeared overnight.

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According to local media reports, the helpless farmer identified only by his surname Yang, had attributed the loss to a sinkhole that opened up in a pond.

A view of the giant pit at a quarry which is suspected to be a main cause of the drawdown in neighboring fish ponds in Baisha town. Image: HAI OU/IMAGINECHINA/AP

"I first noticed that the water levels in my pond had dropped at 4 a.m. one morning while I was inspecting my farm," Yang told reporters. "At 9 a.m., most of the water and all of my fish had gone, drained into the sinkhole."

A Chinese farmer looks into the giant sinkhole. Image: HAI OU/IMAGINECHINA/AP

"It's as if the fish grew wings and flew away," he lamented.

Sinkholes in China are not uncommon. In August last year, a sinkhole suddenly opened up near a bus stop in Heilongjiang and swallowed five pedestrians.

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