Following online attention, local authorities in Wuchuan Gelao and Miao autonomous county, Guizhou province, have confirmed that the garbage found in a karst cave is a remnant of a decommissioned landfill, and that waste removal work is now underway.

According to a statement released by the county government on Sunday, the site in Jiaoba township had once been a decommissioned domestic waste landfill, where illegal dumping later occurred.

Questions circulating online about whether the groundwater was polluted and whether crop damage could be linked to the incident remain under investigation.

Earlier online posts speculated that garbage and soil had blocked an underground river at the site, causing farmland in nearby villages to flood after heavy rain and damaging crops.

As of 3 pm Tuesday, the local environmental protection department said it had no further updates to provide.