Thousands of fish have died after booze ended up in the Kentucky River during a fire at a Jim Beam warehouse.
The warehouse, which held around 45,000 barrels of whiskey, went up in flames on Tuesday.
Run-off from firefighters' hoses ended up in the river and now dead fish can be seen floating on top of the water and piling up on its banks.
A containment system was set up at the warehouse in an attempt to stop the booze/water mixture from ending up in the water, as well as aeration devices being added to try and reduce the number of the fish dying, CNN reports.
Advert
However, despite this, thousands of fish are thought to have perished.
Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet has said the 'alcohol plume' in the river is around 23 miles long and should hit the Ohio River at some point today (Monday 8 July) where it will be watered down as it joins the larger river.
It's not yet known how many fish have died - in a post on Facebook, the Cabinet said: "The Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is on the river again today to continue wildlife assessments and fish kill count. Results are pending."
Local resident Kim Strohmeier told Fox News: "I don't believe I would want to swim in it right now. In a few days when all this passes it will be fine.
Advert
"A lot of fisherman in both the Elkhorn Creek and the river here... folks aren't going to have much success fishing in the river in the next few weeks."
Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet spokesperson John Mura said: "We're starting to see fish kill, and we think that it's very likely to get worse."
The department previously said in a statement: "We continue to see dead and dying fish. People using the Kentucky River in the area of the plume will likely see and smell dead fish."
Advert
Jim Beam parent company Beam Suntory has said the fire won't impact booze supplies.
Spokesperson Emily York added: "We are thankful that no one was injured in this incident, and we are grateful to the courageous firefighters from multiple jurisdictions who brought the fire under control and prevented it from spreading.
"Given the age of the lost whiskey, this fire will not impact the availability of Jim Beam for consumers."
The cause of the fire hasn't yet been released.
Featured Image Credit: Kentucky Energy and Environment CabinetTopics: US News