A large number of fish escaped from a hatchery in Washington state. Wildlife officials in the state believe that the incident was the result of equipment failure, as opposed to human error.

The Lyons Ferry Hatchery is located near Palouse Falls in Washington. (iStock)

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that 249,770 young steelhead fish went missing from the Lyons Ferry Hatchery near the Snake River basin, the Associated Press reports. It is believed that the fish escaped into the river and it’s unknown how many, if any, survived.

The hatchery typically releases about 60,000 steelhead fish into the river, although this normally doesn’t occur during the fall or winter.

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A rubber gasket failure created a small gap that some of the young fish in the hatchery were able to swim through. (iStock)

While the missing fish were only just noticed, it’s unclear when they actually escaped. Depending on the time period of the escape, it’s likely that many of the young fish would have fallen prey to predators.

It is possible that the fish survived, however, which would lead to an increased population of steelhead fish in Snake River.

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It's unknown how many, if any, of the fish survived after leaving the hatchery. (iStock)

An investigation is underway, but it’s been reported that the fish escaped due to a rubber gasket failure. This created an inch-and-a-half opening, which was big enough for some of the fish to swim through. It’s estimated that over 60% of the fish at the hatchery escaped.

The hatchery transported the remaining 135,000 fish to the Cottonwood Acclimation Pond near the Oregon border.

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The remaining fish will be released into the Grande Ronde River in April, before returning to the Columbia basin in 2023.