Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Mystery object found on remote WA beach
Police are guarding a large and potentially hazardous mystery object that was washed up on a remote WA beach as experts work to determine what it is.
July 17, 2023
A large and potentially hazardous mystery object has washed up on a remote West Australian beach, prompting a police investigation to identify it.
Officers are guarding the item, which is understood to be a large cylindrical piece of equipment made of a woven material about two metres high.
Multiple state and federal agencies have been called in to help determine what it is and where it came from.
The barnacle-encrusted rusty object was found on Sunday near Green Head, about 250 kilometres north of Perth.
It quickly drew a crowd of interested locals, some posing for photos with the device before authorities arrived.
A cordon has been set up around the mechanism, which some Reddit users speculated could be Indian space junk.
Authorities are treating the device as dangerous and have ruled out an aviation link.
“At this early stage it appears the object did not originate from a commercial aircraft,” a police spokeswoman said on Monday.
The public has been warned to keep a safe distance from the object.
“This measure has been taken to ensure the preservation of potential evidence and facilitate further expert examination,” the spokeswoman said.
“The investigation is ongoing, and until further information is available, we urge everyone to refrain from drawing conclusions.”