Protesters over the death of a street vendor in a city in southwest China's Guizhou Province dispersed Wednesday morning.

Hundreds of people gathered on the Zhonghuanan Street in the city of Anshun on Tuesday afternoon believing that a street hawker had been beaten to death by city management officers, said a spokesman with the provincial police department.

The street vendor died at around 1:47 p.m. Tuesday after having a dispute with city management officers, said the spokesman.

Protestors said they were angry that the one-legged man had been beaten by the officers.

An investigation is underway to find out how the man died, according to the spokesman.