This heart-breaking footage shows dozens of dead pigs floating in an icy river after the lorry that was transporting them crashed and overturned into the water.

The incident reportedly occurred on a road in Heze, in China’s eastern Shandong Province, on 1st February.

Disturbing images show several pigs struggling in the freezing-cold river after the lorry they were in collided with another incoming lorry and overturned.

Countless others had avoided one death by suffering an even more miserable one as they were apparently on their way to being slaughtered.

Witnesses reported that the driver tried even to jump into the river to rescue the pigs but it proved futile.

The driver could not hold their weight and they ultimately had to be removed from the water with the help of an excavator.

It is currently unclear if anyone else got injured in the accident, but no casualties were reported.

The driver later shared the footage on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok. As a reminder to others to be careful when driving in cold weather. Many users could not help but sympathise with the driver.

One, titled ‘Lu Houwen’, wrote: “How helpless the driver must be at this moment. Who can understand what he felt at this moment?”

User ‘dihydrogen monoxide’ commented: “Who will pay for the loss in this kind of thing?”

And ‘Zhang Yan’ said: “I hope the driver is okay. I feel bad looking at the pigs. It costs a lot of money.”

The cause of the accident has not been revealed.