THE soiled diaper buried by a tourist in a beach in the Philippines has been found, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said Sunday.

The beach was forced to close last week after a woman was filmed burying a child’s dirty nappy in the sand while the soiled infant was washed in the sea.

Holidaymakers on Boracay beach in the Philippines were horrified when they spotted the woman’s actions. They saw her burying the dirty nappy in the sand — and caught the incident on camera. The mother of the infant was also seen washing the little one in the sea. Officials had to close the section of the beach to clean up after the incident was reported.

Swimming has also been banned after human faeces entered the water.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said authorities were trying to find the tourists who were responsible.

They intend to file charges for damaging the environment.

Boracay reopened to the public in October 2018 after it was forced to close for six months due to the high levels of sewage and damage that was ruining it.

The long cleanup is estimated to have cost approximately 1 billion pesos (US$18 million).

A set of rules have been introduced on the island to prevent further damage taking place.

Many popular beach activities are no longer allowed, such as smoking or drinking alcohol as well as dining on the beach. Sandcastle building is also to be regulated. The beach also has an Anti Littering Law, which bans visitors to spit, urinate or defecate in public.

(SD-Agencies)

The changes and rehabilitation of the island are expected to take up to two years, with many buildings being destroyed and new sewage treatment facilities being built.

At the time of the destination’s closure, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said: “As long as there is s*** coming out of those pipes draining to the sea, I will never give you the time of the day (to return)”.

The island will not be fully open until December 2019 as repairs continue to take place.

Earlier this month, thousands of litres of raw sewage flooded Costa Blanca in Spain.

The sewage crossed the main N332 road running along the coast before spilling into the streets of La Zenia south of Alicante and reaching a blue-flag beach.

Around 56,000 litres of sewage were estimated to have been lost in the peak holiday season drama, blamed on a broken pipe at a plant near Zenia Boulevard shopping centre.

(SD-Agencies)