Coronavirus: Face masks wash up on Sydney beaches after cargo ship lost containers
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The materials came from the Singaporean-flagged APL England, a cargo ship that lost 40 containers on Sunday in rough seas off the NSW coast.
Sydney beaches have closed after surgical face masks, plastic takeaway containers and air-conditioning ducts washed ashore from dozens of shipping containers which were lost at sea.
The materials came from the Singaporean-flagged APL England, a cargo ship that lost 40 containers on Sunday in rough seas off the NSW coast.
Large swell caused the ship to roll and stacks of containers destabilised and fell into 2km-deep water, forcing the vessel to turn around and head towards Brisbane.
A Randwick Council spokesperson confirmed that it is highly likely the beaches will be closed if debris continues to wash ashore.
Debris from a container ship has washed up on many of our beaches, including Malabar (pictured). Our crews are out now, cleaning up. There may be submerged items in the water, so please don’t swim. Don’t pick up rubbish, let us know about it, it may not be safe for you. pic.twitter.com/REYnlObbcr
— Randwick Council (@RandwickCouncil) May 27, 2020
Waverley councillor Sally Betts noted that members of the community were collecting face masks and silver packages off the beach and placing them in bins.
(With inputs from agencies)