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Mysterious Blob Removed From New Jersey Township

Aired August 12, 2003 - 15:52   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The mysterious blob of Little Egg Harbor is no more, but it too leaves lingering questions, such as "What the?"
Here's Cydney Long of CNN affiliate KYW in southern New Jersey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It broke up a little bit and then when we accessed the bay where there's more tidal influence, we picked up a little bit of speed and the rest of it broke up.

CYDNEY LONG, KYW CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It just didn't vanish immediately. The Little Egg Harbor blob broke apart as environmental crews worked to tow this smelly jelly car-sized messy mess out to sea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, they came and they took it away. They netted it. Had a undersea diver and got it together and then they towed it out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually dove it -- we didn't want to take a chance in getting tangled in it or touching it, so we backed off on the dive. We wanted to photograph it underwater, but conditions weren't just right.

LONG: John Benlen (ph) was so happy to see it go he took these pictures to mark the occasion. But he isn't convinced the mass, as environmentalists determined, was algae or even fungus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dead horse. Dead whale. You know, it's unbelievable, but that's what it looked like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Big globs of floating gray, green jelly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rotten eggs. Intestines, it looked like. Disgusting.

The Health Department and the DEP did some background checks on it and they've confirmed that it's either a fungus or an algae. So it's a nonhazardous material and so that's why it's OK to just drag it.

LONG: Still, some who live here fear swimming and fishing still aren't safe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unless the county board of health tells us it's OK, we're not going to swim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, the diver that was in the water, when he come out of the water, they put pure water on him and washed him off. So that's telling me something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just hope that it isn't deposited under docks or things or, you know, parts of it, because it is pretty foul smelling and the kids swim here all the time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: If the blob comes back, we'll be sure to let you know.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired August 12, 2003 - 15:52   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The mysterious blob of Little Egg Harbor is no more, but it too leaves lingering questions, such as "What the?"
Here's Cydney Long of CNN affiliate KYW in southern New Jersey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It broke up a little bit and then when we accessed the bay where there's more tidal influence, we picked up a little bit of speed and the rest of it broke up.

CYDNEY LONG, KYW CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It just didn't vanish immediately. The Little Egg Harbor blob broke apart as environmental crews worked to tow this smelly jelly car-sized messy mess out to sea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, they came and they took it away. They netted it. Had a undersea diver and got it together and then they towed it out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually dove it -- we didn't want to take a chance in getting tangled in it or touching it, so we backed off on the dive. We wanted to photograph it underwater, but conditions weren't just right.

LONG: John Benlen (ph) was so happy to see it go he took these pictures to mark the occasion. But he isn't convinced the mass, as environmentalists determined, was algae or even fungus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dead horse. Dead whale. You know, it's unbelievable, but that's what it looked like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Big globs of floating gray, green jelly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rotten eggs. Intestines, it looked like. Disgusting.

The Health Department and the DEP did some background checks on it and they've confirmed that it's either a fungus or an algae. So it's a nonhazardous material and so that's why it's OK to just drag it.

LONG: Still, some who live here fear swimming and fishing still aren't safe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unless the county board of health tells us it's OK, we're not going to swim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, the diver that was in the water, when he come out of the water, they put pure water on him and washed him off. So that's telling me something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just hope that it isn't deposited under docks or things or, you know, parts of it, because it is pretty foul smelling and the kids swim here all the time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: If the blob comes back, we'll be sure to let you know.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com