Harrowing video from the Newsflare archive shows the moment a massive whale shark is transported to a hotel restaurant in southeastern China before being butchered in a parking lot.

The sickening video, which dates from April 2017, shows the majestic animal being butchered up with blood spilling around.

The incident took place in Sanshazhen, Xiapu county, China's Fujian province.

Onlookers were stunned as the majestic animal was driven past.

The shark was then chopped into pieces by men using giant crosscut saws in a parking lot belonging to Hongfa Hotel, according to eyewitnesses.

It is believed that the carcass will then be sold to the restaurant in the hotel.

One anonymous web user said the whale shark was alive and later bleeding to death.

It's believed that the whale shark was butchered up before selling to Hongfa Hotel.

Fujian Provincial Department of Ocean and Fisheries received inquiries and issued a statement on their official Weibo account.

"We have confirmed that the whale shark incident happened in Sanshazhen upon receiving images of a mini truck transporting the marine animal on shore. Our division in Ningde city and Xiapu county are looking into the matter," stated the officials.

They had also passed on the information to local police officers for further investigations.

Harrowing video footage shows the moment a massive whale shark is transported to a hotel restaurant in southeastern China.
The marine giant was then butchered into pieces in a parking lot.
The sickening video shows the majestic animal being butchered up with blood spilling around
A mini truck carrying a whale shark on the main road in Sanshazhen, Xiapu county, China's Fujian province.
Onlookers were stunned as the majestic animal was driven past.
The shark was then chopped into pieces by men using giant crosscut saws in a parking lot belonging to Hongfa Hotel, according to eyewitnesses.
It's believed that the carcass will then be sold to the restaurant in the hotel
One anonymous web user said the whale shark was alive and later bleeding to death.
It's believed that the whale shark was butchered up before selling to Hongfa Hotel.
Fujian Provincial Department of Ocean and Fisheries received inquiries and issued a statement on their official Weibo account.
'We have confirmed that the whale shark incident happened in Sanshazhen upon receiving images of a mini truck transporting the marine animal on shore. Our division in Ningde city and Xiapu county are looking into the matter,' stated the officials.
They had also passed on the information to local police officers for further investigations