A major beach in Florida got shut down. Actually, several beaches ended up closing on Saturday after officials made a disturbing and gross discovery.
Several mysterious balls of tar washed up on Florida's beaches — from Port Everglades all the way to Palm Beach. Now, the US Coast Guard is investigating the source of the mysterious substance. Unfortunately, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. the organization hasn't made much headway into figuring out the cause of the substance.
Fort Lauderdale's beach remains closed after the substance became a hazard to beachgoers. Other affected beaches have followed suit.
"When we first came down here, there was like weird, black globs on the beach," one man told NBC 6 South Florida. "I thought it was a sea creature or something. Then the lifeguard came down and they're like, 'Everybody out of the water, out of the water,' and we're like, 'What's that for?' and they're like, 'Oh, it's 'cause of the oil.'"
Major Beach Closes
Meanwhile, Seth Platt, a Fort Lauderdale resident, said he accidentally stepped on one while doing a morning walk on the beach. He said his kids later saw similar things there.
"I warned them as soon as they got to the beach," Platt said. "I said, 'Hey guys, there's tar everywhere, don't touch it.' But they all came back with tar all over their feet."
The mysterious tar has surfaced at other Florid beaches as well such as Hollywood and Pompano Beach. But these beaches didn't close since there wasn't as much of the tar balls there.
The exact source remains a mystery. However, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis theorized that it could have came from an oil tanker. But until this has been confirmed, it's little more than a hypothesis. Still, the mayor says that he doesn't believe that the substance is a hazard to beachgoers. That being said, they plan to keep the beach closed until it's gone.
Florida officials tried to spin the bad press by saying that the beach remain as beautiful as ever despite the strange substance.
"There's no visible signs of anything unless you step in it," he said. Geez, thanks!
