Hong Kong - Hong Kong was embarrassed Friday by the death of a second rare Chinese sturgeon months after it was presented to the city's Ocean Park theme park by the Beijing government.

The death of the endangered fish from a bacterial infection follows the loss of another sturgeon in June which was savaged to death by a barracuda sharing the same tank.

The incident in June came only days after Hong Kong was given the 1.1-metre-long fish, along with two other sturgeon, by China, representing one of the five mascots of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

It developed into a minor but acutely embarrassing diplomatic incident for the government of the former British colony, whose officials are all appointed by China and kow-tow to Beijing.

Hong Kong's leader Donald Tsang made a grovelling public apology for the three year-old sturgeon's death while Chinese officials were drafted in to advise Ocean Park on how to care for the other fish.

China eventually gave five more sturgeon to Ocean Park the following month to replace the dead fish. One of the eight surviving fish was Friday confirmed to have died, this time from a bacterial infection.

Ocean Park chairman Alan Zeman told a news conference that the fish fell sick last week and was given antibiotics but succumbed to its illness.

A thorough investigation was being carried out into the causes of the sturgeon's death while measures were being taken to protect the remaining seven fish from infection, he said.

Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 after 156 years as a British colony. The city of 6.9 million hosted the equestrian events of the Beijing Olympics. (dpa)