At least 5,000 fish were killed last evening in the Owenacurra river near Midleton in east Cork as a result of a chemical pollutant entering the river system. It is understood the fish kill, which occurred at about 7 p.m. near the Cork Road bridge, was accompanied by a strong smell of chlorine.
The dead fish included sea trout, weighing up to 4 lbs, brown trout, and stoneloach. A spokesman for the South Western Regional Fisheries Board said samples from the river had been sent for analysis and that industrial effluent was suspected as the cause of the fish kill. The board warned members of the public not to fish from the river until the all-clear had been given.