TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Swimmers and surfers at a beach in Kenting yesterday morning (May 1) suddenly found themselves immersed in black slime resulting from a sludge discharge from a nearby sewage treatment plant, reported Liberty Times.

At around 10 a.m. yesterday, surfers at Nanwan Beach in southern Taiwan's Kenting National Park suddenly found themselves surrounded by a smelly black slime, and many reported that their bodies started to itch. However, many foreign tourists continued to swim in the black ooze, unaware that they were swimming in sewage.

Surfers who saw the black sludge slide into the sea were angry. They were also worried that the health of sea turtles spotted swimming in the muck could be adversely affected.

After personnel from the Pingtung County Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) went to the scene to investigate, it was found that at 7 a.m. that morning, while carrying out water extraction, the nearby sewage treatment plant changed its discharge process from automatic to manual. By 9 a.m., the water extraction process was complete, however plant employees forgot to switch back to automatic discharge, causing the water pump to spew low water level sludge into the ocean.

It was not until members of the public discovered the black gunk spreading across the beach did sewage plant personnel switch the pump back to automatic mode.

Pingtung County EPB officials are investigating whether the accident was caused by negligence and have informed the plant that this could be violation of the Water Pollution Protection Act (水污染防治法), which could result in a fine of up to NT$6 million (US$200,000).

Kenting National Park Visitor Center Head Liu Pei-tung (劉培東) said that the sludge had already been diluted in the sea by the afternoon and that it would not affect the ecology of the nearby waters or public health. However, the sewage plat will be required to convene a review meeting and he does not rule out that officials may be removed, or in the event of serious violations, the contract is canceled.

Video of the sludge being released into Nanwan captured by Facebook user Ziby Cat: