Derelict shopping plaza in Thailand becomes natural urban aquarium

Bizarre photographs have emerged of a derelict shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand, which turned into an unlikely aquarium after its closure in 1997.

The combination of heavy rainfall and mosquito larvae made it the perfect breeding ground for amphibians and over the years the structure became home to more than 3,000 fish including catfish, carp and tilapia.

However, over the weekend workers clubbed together to clear the pond-like ground-floor of creatures. Armed with giant nets, headlamps and waders they went about catching everything in sight. 

The water was then drained away with pumps and vacuums.

The roofless New World department store, which fell into disrepair following a fire, is set for demolition.  

Locals gathered to watch the clean-up effort in motion. 

Government officials feared the structure could disintegrate at any time, with escalators and walkways on the brink of collapse.  

Some also worried it could be a hotbed for disease.

Before the mall's recent closure enterprising vendors were selling bags of fish food to tourists for around 35 cents.

Many locals remembered the landmark - built in 1982 - in its glory days.

'That was the cosmetics department,' Rangsan Somjan told the Wall Street Journal when he took a trip back to the hollow shopping haunt last year. 

(dailymail.co.uk)