
This is the heart-rending moment an emotional farmer breaks down as he is forced to leave his 6000 pigs after floodwaters engulfed their pens.

The farm manager, Li Xiaobo, can be seen hugging the animals and bidding them a teary farewell as they await their fate in neck-deep waters. Torrential rains battered central China’s Shucheng county over the weekend, blocking rescue efforts at the farm in Bailin city.

Rescue teams later scrambled to pull some of the pigs from harm's way, including workers from agricultural company Xishang Group and nearby volunteers, reports China Daily.

Scroll down for video

A pig farm worker bids farewell to pigs in the floodwater at a farm in entral China’s Shucheng county

Torrential rains battered central China’s Shucheng county over the weekend, trapping the animals and blocking rescue efforts at the farm in Bailn city

The stricken animals had been trapped for more than 20 hours before rescue teams leaped to their rescue. It is unclear how many of the animals have been saved.

Mr Li previously made a desperate plea to the public to help winch the pigs to safety after some of the animals drowned.

Mr Li hopes to sell the pigs directly to a transfer company and is scrambling to form a plan before it is too late.

Bailin recorded 285 millimeters in from Thursday to Monday, one of the hardest hit regions by severe floods which lashed large parts of the country over the weekend.

Mr Li previously made a desperate plea to the public to help transfer the pigs after some of the animals drowned

Images of Mr Li spread bidding the pigs farewell spread like like wildfire on Tuesday, with thousand calling for the animals to be rescued

The stricken animals had been trapped for more than 20 hours before a rescue team of about 60 people leaped to their rescue

Images of Mr Li bidding the pigs farewell spread like wildfire on social media on Tuesday, with thousand calling for the animals to be rescued.

Severe floods killed 93 people in central and southern China over the weekend and left at least 19 others missing.

Millions were forced to evacuate their homes as the floods consumed entire villages, triggering direct economic losses of more than 20 billion yuan.

Known as 'plum rains,' China's wet season typically lasts for around two months between late May and July.

Drum towers of Dong ethnic minority stand in flood waters caused by heavy rain at a riverside park in Rongjiang county

A house is almost submerged in flood waters caused by heavy rain in Xuancheng city

Severe floods killed 93 people in central and southern China over the weekend and left 19 others missing.