Authorities in a county in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality have suspended a local television channel and vowed a thorough investigation after the station broadcasted several minutes of pornographic video clips.

On the evening of July 7, erotic pornographic video clips appeared on a television channel run by the station of the Youyang Tujia and Miao autonomous county in Chongqing, according to a statement from the local government information office.

After the incident, the local government held an emergency meeting, and the TV station suspended the channel, the statement said.

The channel was broadcasting a TV series when the pornographic video clips suddenly appeared, it said.

Local netizens posted pictures of the television footage on Internet forums of the county, and it was reposted many times on micro blogs, drawing widespread attention.

As of Wednesday, pictures of a naked Western woman exposing her lower body, which were taken by netizens when the video footage was aired, could still be seen on an online forum of the county.

According to regulations, broadcasting that promotes pornographic content is strictly prohibited, and TV stations must examine and verify the content of a program before airing it.

Local police have begun investigating the case, and the Party discipline authorities of Youyang have also launched an investigation into possible dereliction of duty of related officials, the county government's news office said.

A woman who answered the phone on Wednesday afternoon at the Youyang television station said police are still investigating the incident and the station would not comment further. She declined to give her name.

For many residents of Youyang, the incident is an embarrassment, and many were worried that it would taint the image of the county.

"I feel embarrassed. What is behind the incident is a lack of serious attitude toward work," said Bai Fan, a migrant worker in Beijing whose hometown is Youyang.

Bai said the incident could damage the image of his hometown.

Zheng Ahu, the administrator of an online forum of Youyang county, said he believes the incident exposed poor management at the television station.

"It is not only a matter of lacking professionalism among the staff, but also a dereliction of duty," he said.

Tuo Wei, a native of the county who now works in Chongqing, said she hopes people view the case as an isolated incident.

"I would rather believe the computer (at the television station) was hacked, and the incident was not deliberately caused by somebody," she said.

xuwei@chinadaily.com.cn