Studies showed pollution in the Huaihe River in Shenqiu, Henan province, is posing high risks of cancer to villagers living along the river, claiming 1,724 lives in 2010, Beijing News reported on Friday.

"The cancer death rate in Shenqiu is about twice the country's average death rate," said Yang Gonghuan, deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

He said the high cancer rates in these regions correlate with the severe pollution in the river.