A city along the Yangtze River suspended its tap water supply for hours on Friday in the country's third major water pollution case in a month.

The government of Jingjiang, Jiangsu province, announced the suspension on its micro blog around 11 am, citing a "pungent smell" in the river and prompting residents of the city and nearby areas to rush out to buy bottled water.

The water supply in Jinjiang, which has a population of 680,000, was resumed at 5 pm, the government said.