London
19 °C
Manchester
17 °C
Glasgow
Dublin
17 °C
Belfast
Washington
17 °C
Denver
Atlanta
Dallas
Houston Texas
26 °C
New Orleans
El Paso
22 °C
Phoenix
26 °C
Los Angeles
8 °C
22 °C
'Mysterious black balls' close Sydney beaches / Photo: Saeed KHAN - AFP
'Mysterious black balls' close Sydney beaches
Hundreds of mysterious black tar-like balls have washed up on two popular Sydney beaches, prompting lifeguards to close the strands to swimmers.
"Mysterious, black, ball-shaped debris" began appearing on Coogee Beach on Tuesday afternoon the local mayor said, leaving flummoxed Australian authorities scrambling to find out what they might be, and where they may have come from.
Hundreds of golf-to-cricket-ball-sized spheres could be seen littering the coast, which is usually thronged with Sydneysiders and tourists.
Instead, a few seagulls wandered among the spheres, pecking and examining.
The balls were also spotted at nearby Gordon's Bay, an aquatic reserve popular for snorkelling and fishing, which was also closed.
"At this stage, it is unknown what the material is," Mayor Dylan Parker said in a social media post.
"However, they may be 'tar balls' which are formed when oil comes in to contact with debris and water, typically the result of oil spills or seepage."
B.Roman--HdM
