SpaceX rocket explosion debris likely found by UK Coast Guard

Debris from a U.S. rocket, mostlikely the doomed SpaceX Falcon 9, has been recovered near theIsles of Scilly, off the coast of southwest England, the UKcoastguard has said on Friday.

It was covered in barnacles and was initially mistaken for adead whale.

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

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

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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 thoughtinitially it was a dead whale and the birds were feeding off
it," he said.