Plague of dead sea animals killed by mystery illness wash up on a beach in Mexico, with scientists baffled and tourists warned to steer clear

  • 21 dolphins, 11 turtles and two sea lions found dead on Mexican coast
  • Environment experts are unsure as to what killed the animals 
  • Fisherman's nets and cruise liners ruled out due to inconsistent injuries 

By John Hutchinson for MailOnline

Published: 05:36 EST, 19 October 2015 | Updated: 07:45 EST, 19 October 2015

Experts have been left baffled after dozens of dead animals washed up on beaches popular with tourists in Mexico.

And visitors are being warned to steer clear from the sands, which stretch almost 26 miles along the west coast of Mexico, until the cause of the deaths can be determined.

Twenty-one dolphins, 11 turtles and two sea lions were found either washed up on shore or floating in shallow waters near to Sinaloa.

This dolphin was just one of 21 that washed up dead on beaches on the west coast of Mexico

There were also 11 turtles that were discovered, with experts still unsure as to how they died

Worried environmentalists have called for an in-depth investigation to try and establish what caused the tragedy.

None of the sea creatures appeared marked or cut in any way so it was possible to rule out that they had been caught in fisherman's nets or run over by a cruise liner. 

Mexico's Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) are now investigating whether pollution is to blame for the deaths. They have also activated a security protocol and tourists have been warned not to use the beaches while the water is being tested.

A spokesman for FEPA said: 'We will be looking at what species are affected, their condition, size, age, physical appearance, nutritional state, health, visible traumas, the time and date, climacteric conditions, state of the sea, topography of the beach and accessibility of the area.

Environmentalists have called for an in-depth investigation to try and establish what caused the tragedy

This shows the location where the animals have washed up on the beaches in western Mexico

'We will also be carrying out an autopsy and collecting samples of tissue and organs to conduct laboratory studies.' 

However, he added that at the moment marine biologists were baffled about the cause of the mysterious deaths.

It is expected to take a number of weeks for the results to be released. 

Following the discovery of the dead animals, that also included a sea lion, bathers have been warned against using the affected beaches