This footage showing dozens of fish jumping out of a lake in a frenzy had online users worried it might be an ominous sign of an earthquake or other natural disasters after it emerged on social media.

The bizarre scene was captured by unnamed witnesses at Dianchi Lake, located in south-western China’s Yunnan Province on the morning of 6th August.

One video shows a school of silver carp jumping out of the water one after the other as a boat full of tourists struggles to pass through.

Some fish began landing on the boat while others hit the tourists on their backs.

Others jumped out so high they even reached the nearby docks.

Locals told Chinese media the dizzying scene lasted for half an hour.

As the footage began making rounds on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, users became increasingly worried it might be a bad omen.

One user titled ‘Against the current’ said in a comment: “This is not a good thing, I am afraid there will be a disaster.”

Another user titled ‘few flowers’ said: “There’s going to be a big earthquake.”

And user ‘Infinite blessings’ wrote: “Several days ago, a boy from Yunnan claimed to have been chosen by a deity. He also went missing near Dianchi Lake. Could there be any connection?”

One boat worker said that this was not the first time or place that the silver carp in Dianchi Lake was acting like this.

Experts linked the occurrence to lack of oxygen in the water due to recent rains, or the increase in breeding during the closed fishing season.

However, the exact reason so far remains unclear.

Dianchi Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Yunnan Province and one of the largest ones in China.

Known as the pearl of the plateau, the lake is not only a tourist attraction, but also an important source of local water supply and farmland irrigation.

The ecological environment around Dianchi Lake has always attracted much attention, and the bizarre case of the fish jumping has only added to public curiosity.