Authorities in western Australia have been baffled by a mysterious “unidentified” dome that washed up on a beach. The giant cylindrical object believed to be about 2.5 metre wide and around 3 metre long was found by locals at Green Head beach, about 250 kilometres north of Perth. The state and federal authorities are investigating the item, which is not currently believed to be from a commercial aircraft, as per a BBC report. 


The object is being treated as hazardous and police have requested people to keep a safe distance. 


"We want to reassure the community that we are actively engaged in a collaborative effort with various State and Federal agencies to determine the object's origin and nature," police said in a statement, as per the report.


According to the residents, the cylinder was about 2.5m wide and between 2.5m and 3m long, Australia's public broadcaster reported.


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Residents flocked to the site on Saturday night to catch a glimpse of the mysterious object with one local describing it as a "great social evening", reported ABC. 


"It was a lovely, still night, the kids were digging sand castles around it," he told the ABC.


Meanwhile, experts speculated the object to be part of a rocket which had fallen into the Indian Ocean.


Aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas said that the cylinder could possibly be from a fuel tank from a rocket that had fallen into the Indian Ocean at some stage in the past 12 months, as per the BBC report. 


The Australian space agency said it was possible the giant cylinder could have fallen from a "foreign space launch vehicle" and it would liaise with other international agencies.


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Some even speculated that the object could be a part of MH370,  a plane that went missing off the west Australian coast in 2014 with 239 passengers on board. Thomas, though, put a rest to that speculation saying there was “no chance” of it. 


"It's not any part of a Boeing 777 and the fact is MH370 was lost nine and a half years ago so it would show a great deal more wear and tear on the debris," he said.