A colossal-sized fish has been caught in what is considered an omen of a coming disaster.
The creature, which was over 16ft-long, was caught by a group of fishermen from the city of Arica in Chile where civilians quickly gathered to see if the rumours were true.
Footage of the incident was shared on on TikTok showing the huge fish being hoisted up for all to see.
The clip was liked 600,000 times and racked up 10 million likes.
“And now where do we escape?" one person commented.
"That’s a scary amazing fish," another added.
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"Oarfish live in the depths. It is said that when they start to the surface it is because the tectonic plates are in movement," a third speculated.
Further hype began to build online where one person commented "yup we're dead."
While someone else agreed: “Imagine being swimming and that appears. I'm dying.”
One person joked: “Thanks for finding my mother in law, she was lost.”
"I'll start building the ark myself just like Noah did," another mocked.
But not everyone was impressed by images of the fish dangling from a hook and questioned why it had been pulled from the water.
“And why the hell did they capture him?” a fourth person quipped.
Oarfish, sometimes referred to as "rowing fish", can reach lengths of up to 11-metres.
The sea creatures have long been seen as an omen by the Japanese people for oncoming tsunamis and earthquakes.
They also believe that whoever finds such a fish to be cursed from then onwards.
The fish live in deep water and only return to the surface when they are sick, dying or breeding.
This has fuelled speculation they may return to the surface with changes in the weather, though this theory has yet to be confirmed.
Their long silver body is ribbon like in appearance and features a large red dorsal fin and two smaller pectoral fins.
Local authorities must now ask what bought the creature to the surface, and if it’s something harmless or altogether more sinister.
