Fishermen were stunned after discovering the fish
Fishermen were stunned after discovering the fish
Two rare earthquake fish were thrown out of the water after a ' mud volcano ' erupted off the coast of Taiwan.

The volcano erupted early Thursday morning in the city of Pingtung following a 5.6-magnitude earthquake .


Fishermen were delighted to find the oarfish, also known as earthquake fish, both measuring 4.4 metres - twice as long as beanpole footballer Peter Crouch - and weighing a whopping seven stone.

Four eruption mouths were spotted in a paddy field in Wandan Town and the hot slurry almost destroyed the whole field.


The huge fish both measure more than 4 metres in length
© CENThe huge fish both measure more than 4 metres in length

Local villagers dug ditches immediately to drain the slurry away and doubted that the eruption may have a connection with the early earthquake that hit the east coast.

The 5.6-magnitude earthquake occurred in the waters off Hualien County, Taiwan at around 11:17pm and in the following several hours, around 30 aftershocks between 3.5 and 5.6 magnitude were spotted.

The fish weighed a whopping seven stone
© CENThe fish weighed a whopping seven stone
The latest earthquake monitored at 4 magnitude occurred around 11am on Thursday. There have been no casualties reported.

Experts say that the aftershocks may last two to three days.

"We predict that the mud volcano eruption may last for two to three days. And it may be accompanied by some magnitude 5 earthquakes," said Kuo Kaiwen, director of Taiwan Earthquake Monitoring and Report Center.