Fort Lauderdale Beach in Florida had to be evacuated this weekend after people started to find balls of a tar -like substance on the coast.
Swimmers were told that they had to get out of the water on Saturday after someone called Fire Rescue Fire Rescue around 9 am and reported the strange liquid.
The caller said the black fabric was on his feet while walking on the sand, WSVN reported.
A beach visitor that day named Benjamin spoke the local outlet and said he saw that the tar balls are rinsing on the coast.
“We didn't know what it was until we tried to wash the sand, and there were these small dark spots on the bottom of our feet,” he said.
“We had to go back to the hotel and wash it off. It was really difficult to get from our feet, “he added.
The American Coast Guard, who is investigating the incident, has not confirmed the source of the substance, but officials have speculated that this is the result of an oil leak of a ship.
On Saturday, officials closed the beach of Lifeguard Tower 1 at Port Everglades to Lifeguard Tower 10 in Riomar Street.
Fort Lauderdale Beach in Florida had to be evacuated this weekend after people started to find balls of a tar -like substance on the coast
Shown: a beach visitor holds one of the tar balls in their hand
Officials believe that the substance of an oil slick is on board a nearby ship
The polluting fabric was stuck to the skin of beachgoers after they walked on the sand
Despite the red flags at every lifeguard post that indicates that no swimming was allowed, lifeguards had difficulty keeping people out of the water.
“They were very hot and heavy in the beginning and then everyone started to go inside,” Strandganger Madison Bronson told Local10.
Around 6.45 pm on Saturday, the city announced that the beach was clear. City officials also said they had not received a word from the coast guard.
Coast Guard Air and Water Crews searched on Saturday from Palm Beach to Palm Beach to Port Everglades looking for the source, but did not find it.
On Sunday, the Coast Guard announced that the circumstances were the same 'if not improved' and advocated beachgoers to contact the National Response Center on 800-424-8802 to report any pollution.
From Sunday the beach is open again, but at the moment city officials are still discouraging swimming because lifeguards are out of service for the night.
Dailymail.com approached the coast guard for more information about this incident.
