More than 100 wild animals have reportedly dropped dead near the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in China.

Experts claimed that some of the animals died after being poisoned by disinfectant sprayed by workers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to state media.

A total of 135 animal bodies belonging to 17 species – including blackbirds, wild boars and weasels – were found in Chongqing, which borders Hubei Province.

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Officials in China’s Chongqing city found 135 animal bodies belonging to 17 species, including blackbirds, wild boars and weasels. The creatures were poisoned by disinfectant (file photo)

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Officials told the state news agency that Chongqing workers might have squirted too much disinfectant to curb the coronavirus epidemic, killing the wildlife by accident. The picture shows sanitation workers disinfect a residential compound in Bozhou on February 18

Chongqing Forestry Bureau said the animals had died in several batches, reported Xinhua.

Officials told the state news agency that workers might have squirted too much disinfectant to curb the epidemic, killing the wildlife by accident.

They stressed that none of the dead creatures were found to have novel coronavirus, bird flu or Newcastle disease, which is a highly contagious disease affecting birds worldwide.

Authorities have disposed of the animals’ bodies in environmental-friendly ways. They have also disinfected the places where the corpses were found, the report said.

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The novel coronavirus has killed at least 2,249 people and infected more than 76,700 globally

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More than 76,700 patients have been infected, including more than 1,000 outside of China

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Over 2,200 people have now died from the killer coronavirus rapidly sweeping the world

Sanitation workers around the country have carried out deep-cleaning campaigns in public places to prevent and control the spread of the virus.

In the city of Taiyuan in Shanxi Province, officials have deployed a fleet of remote-controlled mini-tanks to spray disinfectant in residential areas.

Elsewhere, local authorities in the provinces of Jilin, Shandong and Zhejiang have enlisted drones to spray disinfectant.

Originating in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the new virus – known as COVID-19 – has infected more than 75,400 people inside China and 76,700 globally.

The Chinese government has locked down tens of millions of people in Hubei Province, of which Wuhan is the capital city, to prevent the spread of the disease.