Around 30 pigs have died under “mysterious circumstances” in a village in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tirap district, causing panic among locals, a senior official said on Wednesday.

The pigs, which were bought to Chomuithong village from Assam, have “died recently all of a sudden”, Tirap Deputy Commissioner Hento Karga said.

“I have instructed the veterinary and animal husbandry department officials to conduct an investigation to find out the cause of the deaths,” Karga said.

He said that poultry farms in Chomuithong and surrounding areas have also been affected.

“The veterinarians could not conduct lab tests or post-mortem examinations therefore, they were unable to ascertain the cause of the deaths,” Karga said.

Meanwhile, the Tirap district administration has issued an order, prohibiting buying of pork from Assam and nearby districts from Wednesday.