Suburb of Sydney Popular beach has to close due to mysterious balls

Hundreds of mysterious tar-like balls have washed up on a popular beach in a Sydney suburb.

"Coogee Beach is closed until further notice," said local mayor Dylan Parker on the online platforms. The "mysterious, black, spherical debris" first appeared on Tuesday afternoon - leaving the authorities baffled as to what it could be and where the spheres came from. Hundreds of small balls could be seen on the popular beach. Instead of visitors, only a few seagulls wandered around, pecking and inspecting the beach.

"At this stage it is not known what the material is, but it could be tar balls, which form when oil comes into contact with dirt and water, typically as a result of oil spills or seepage," Parker stated.

Despite an overnight cleanup operation, the beach remained closed off on Wednesday. Other nearby beaches were under observation but remained open. "Beachgoers are asked to avoid Coogee Beach until further notice and not to touch the material while the cleanup and investigation continues," Parker said.