Locals were battling to save fish from a river running dangerously low after weeks of dry weather in northern Thailand on December 24.<br /><br />The Ping River in Chiang Mai province has been affected by severe drought causing the river bed to be exposed in some places.<br /><br />Concerned residents gathered to catch the giant catfish from the shallow river amid fears they could die from intoxication.<br /><br />Uthit Guna, 55, said each year there are around 2,000 catfish in the river which are caught and sold.<br /><br />She said: "We fill the river with around 2,000 catfish every year and let them grow until they are big, then we catch and sell them in the market.<br /><br />"However, the authorities decided to let less water down from the reservoir and they have started to die because of the lack of water.<br /><br />"We need to catch our fish earlier than usual to prevent them from dying from intoxication.''
