People are being urged to avoid an eastern Sydney beach after it became dotted with mysterious ball-shaped debris.
Randwick City Council said lifeguards at Coogee Beach found the unexplained globules on Tuesday afternoon and announced the beach would be closed until further notice.
“Council is investigating the origin and composition of the material, which has the appearance of dark spheres,” local authorities said in a statement.
They advised beach-goers not to touch the material amid a clean-up and investigation of the matter.
The council said the material “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”.
Local environmental officers collected samples for testing and reported the incident to the NSW Environment Protection Authority and Beachwatch NSW, a state government program that monitors beach water quality.
Other nearby beaches were being inspected, the council said, but so far the material had only be seen at Coogee Beach.
