Mystery as hundreds of fish die in the Tevere river in Rome.

Hundreds of dead fish have been seen bobbing on the surface of Rome's river Tiber over the weekend, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

The macabre discovery was first noted by a member of the Rome branch of OIPA, the International Organisation for Animal Protection, who photographed the scenes and alerted the police.

The dead fish have been sighted in various sections of the Tevere, with reports from under Ponte Vittorio, all along the stretch between Ponte Milvio and Ponte Marconi, and near Ponte della Musica.

Health authorities will conduct tests on 1 June to ascertain the cause of the death of the fish, reports ANSA, while police are checking for evidence of spills of harmful liquids or chemicals into the river.

"We have seen episodes of this type in the past, and we ask once again for light to be shed on this serious episode affecting the biodiversity of the capital," - Rita Corboli, Roman delegate of OIPA Italia, told ANSA.

"Today on the cycle path that runs along the Tiber people were stunned: hundreds of fish of different species died from causes that we ask to be immediately ascertained with adequate sampling of the water and in-depth analysis", Corboli concluded.

Photo RomaFanpage