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105,000 dead fish and birds along US river
Around 100,000 fish have been found dead along a river in the US state of Arkansas just as thousands of blackbirds plummeted dead from the sky on New Year's Eve only 125 miles away.
The fish – all of the same 'drum' species – littered the banks of a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River near Ozark, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) said. State wildlife officials are currently conducting tests to find out what killed them.
Keith Stephens, of the AGFC, said fish kills occur every year, but the magnitude of this one was unusual. At the same time, officials are also investigating the mystery of up to 5,000 dead blackbirds in the town of Beebe, around 125 miles from where the fish were found.
The creatures began falling from the sky late on 31 December and continued into the next day, witnesses said.
Officials are looking at various possibilities as to why the birds dropped dead - including being startled by fireworks, stress or hit by hail or lightning.
High winds and tornadoes struck Arkansas on New Year's Eve, with the hardest hit area more than 150 miles to the west of Beebe.
