Could this object on Australia beach be part of ill-fated MH370 flight?

A mysterious "unidentified" dome that washed up on a West Australian beach has left locals and the police puzzled as it remains unclear where the object came from, what it was used for, and why the object was afloat in the sea. 

Locals at Green Head Beach, about 250 kilometres (155 miles) north of Perth, discovered the enormous metal object while authorities from the state and the federal government were looking into the object, which is not currently thought to be from a commercial aircraft.

Nevertheless, the police have asked that people maintain a safe distance because it is being treated as dangerous.

"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.

According to locals at Green Head Beach, the cylinder was between 2.5 and 3m long and approximately 2.5m wide.

Residents came to the location on Saturday night to view the cylinder, according to ABC News, and one local called it a "great social evening."

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

The mysterious object has prompted different theories and speculations about its origin. Geoffrey Thomas, an aviation expert, speculated that the object might have been a fuel tank from a rocket that had fallen into the Indian Ocean within the previous 12 months.

The Australian Space Agency stated that it was possible that the enormous cylinder may have fallen from a "foreign space launch vehicle" and that it would coordinate with other international agencies.

Even though there was some speculation that the cylinder might have come from MH370, the 239-passenger aircraft that vanished off the coast of western Australia in 2014, Thomas said there was "no chance" that it was.

"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.