Debris from U.S. rocket recovered off coast of southwest England

[December 01, 2015]  LONDON (Reuters) - Debris from a U.S. rocket, most likely the doomed SpaceX Falcon 9, has been recovered near the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of southwest England, the UK coastguard has said on Friday.

It was covered in barnacles and was initially mistaken for a dead whale.

Britain's Maritime and Coastguard Agency said in a statement that a piece of metal alloy was recovered with the help of a local boatman. It measured around 10 meters by 4 meters (13 feet).

Martin Leslie, coastal area commander, said: "The markings show an American flag. It looks like it's an American rocket and is similar to the unmanned Space X Falcon 9 which blew up shortly after take-off from Cape Canaveral in June."

Photographs showed the debris covered in what Joseph Thomas, the boatman, told the BBC were goose barnacles.

"There were lots of gulls on the water and I thought initially it was a dead whale and the birds were feeding off it," he said.

(Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

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