Updated 11:42 | Published at 11:28 am
A large metal cylinder has been found on a beach in the western parts of Australia.
The object has attracted a lot of attention among the authorities and the local population – no one knows where it came from.
The cylinder was discovered in the water near Green Head, a coastal town of fewer than 300 people, about 25 miles from Perth. According to residents in the city, the object must have been towed to the beach, writes the NY Times.
The mysterious object appears to be metal and has cables or barbed wire hanging from the top. It should be about two meters high.
Please stay away
Police in Australia said in a statement on Monday evening that the object is harmless and poses no risk to people. However, the police have urged the public to stay away from the object. The object will be moved after it is identified, the NY Times reports.
In the news media and on social media, there is speculation about where the cylinder comes from. Among other things, there is speculation that it could come from a military aircraft, a passenger plane or a spacecraft.
Australian Space Agency involved
According to the NY Times, one theory is that it could be debris from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared from radar during a flight in 2014.
Police have said that at this stage it is difficult to say where the object came from, but that it does not appear to have come from a passenger flight.
The Australian equivalent of the Swedish Space Agency wrote on Twitter on Monday that the object could come from a launch from another country and that it is in contact with space authorities in other countries to get information, writes the NY Times.