Three tonnes of mahseer fish (called garing in Indonesia or, formally, tor tambroides) are said to have died in West Pasaman in Indonesia's West Sumatra when landslides filled rivers with mud and clouded the waters.

The fish is considered sacred by some Indonesians.

The mass die-off happened in Nagari Lubuk Landua and was discovered by locals early in the morning of Tuesday 1 March.

The murky river flow that is blamed for it is thought to have been caused by a landslide near Mount Talamau, after an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 rocked the area on February 25.

To save the fish, residents tried to move them from the river to a pond with clearer water nearby. But many fish did not survive.

The fish that survived were transferred to a water source at the back of a local mosque. The dead fish were placed on the ground near the river, to be buried.

Many locals do not eat the fish because for hundreds of years it has been considered sacred.

Fully grown, the fish can measure 50-100cm.

Darmis, a local citizen, said: "Still, it's in the mosque. Moved again from the river. That helped. The number is not counted by us. Many people helped last night."

At least three tons of forbidden fish or sacred fish, of the Garing type (tor tambroides) in Nagari Lubuk Landua, West Pasaman Regency, West Sumatra, Indonesia mass died. The incident became known to residents on Tuesday morning, around one o'clock.
According to residents, the death of the banned fish was triggered by the cloudy and muddy waters of the Batang Haluan river since Monday night. The murky river flow is thought to have been triggered by a landslide at the waist of Mount Talamau, after an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 rocked the area on February 25, 2022.
To save the fish, residents tried to move it from the river, to the port near the Syech Lubuk Landua Mosque. However, not all fish survived. The fish that survived were then transferred to a water source at the back of the mosque, so that they got clearer water. While the dead fish are brought to the ground across the river to be buried.
Residents themselves do not dare to eat the fish, because for hundreds of years it has been sacred by their ancestors. Fish that die alone on average measure above fifty centimeters to one meter.

SOT : Darmis- Citizens
Still, it's in the mosque. Moved again from the river. That helped. The number is not counted by us. Many people helped last night. How much can be put in here and then brought there. This is the name of the bow river