Sixteen containers fell off a cargo ship into the sea at the weekend, leading to travel disruption for holidaymakers and fruit being washed up on beaches along the south coast.

Here is what we know so far about the banana containers in the Solent.

On Saturday, a cargo ship called the Baltic Klipper lost 16 containers while sailing through the Solent, a busy stretch of water between the Isle of Wight and the mainland.

The incident happened during rough weather, and the containers fell overboard and broke open after hitting the water.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency broadcast warnings to ships in the area. It confirmed no crew members had been injured and that the containers had been carrying “non-hazardous cargo”.

Councils in West Sussex said seven containers had washed up in Selsey, two at Pagham Harbour and two at Bognor Regis.

HM Coastguard said a helicopter and fixed wing aircraft have been carrying out searches for the missing cargo.

Donna Tretheway runs Selsey Beach Litter Ninjas, who have been helping to clean up the area.

She said they had “not seen anything on this scale” in the three years that they have been litter picking.

The environmentalist said she felt “devastated and heartbroken” by the situation.

“It is enough to make you cry, it really is,” she said.

She said her team did its best to keep the beach clean but that this was “catastrophic”.

She described it as “green crates as far as the eye can see”, adding that “it’s carnage out there”.

She said the metal containers had broken up in the water but that their main concern was the “insulation” and “foam” polystyrene, which has torn into “tiny pieces” they cannot pick up.

“It’s inevitably going to go into the food chain, so it’s not only impacting on the animals themselves but it’s going to impact on humans in the long-run,” Ms Tretheway said.

Most of the containers were carrying bananas destined for UK supermarkets but reports suggest some may also have contained other fruit such as plantains or avocados.

Strong tides carried the fruit towards the shore, and authorities are warning people not to eat or take the bananas as they may have been in seawater for days and could be contaminated.

Under UK law, anything washed up from a shipwreck must be reported to HM Coastguard’s Receiver of Wreck.

The coastguard said anyone who failed to declare items within 28 days would be breaking the law and could face enforcement action.

But it said “that will not include perishable goods” and “members of the public should comply with the instructions provided by the council”.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is coordinating the response, along with local councils.

It is working with West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service and Sussex Police in Selsey where it has put cordons around containers and asked people not to go near them.

Recovery teams are working to remove debris and fruit from beaches.

West Sussex County Council, Arun District Council and Chichester District Council said they were leading the operation and had appointed contractors to do the work.

They urged people to avoid beaches because of possible fragments of metal.

Local resident David Mitchell told BBC Radio Sussex that it was a “major” clean-up job but that he was pleased to see community groups helping out.

Gavin Jones walked along the beach at low-tide on Monday morning and raised his concerns about the environmental impact.

“The beach is now covered in polystyrene,” he said.

Sue Garlick was walking her dog in the area on Sunday and said: “There were a few people with bags picking some stuff up so that was really good to see people had got down and were clearing it up.”

She described the containers as “totally mangled up”, adding that it was “scary” to think how strong the sea could be.

Her husband David Garlick shared his sympathy for everyone concerned, from the shops that require the goods to the holidaymakers delayed on their cruises.

The incident caused delays for some vessels, including P&O cruise ship the Iona.

The Iona, which has a capacity of 5,200 passengers, had been due to set off on Saturday for a 14-day trip to Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands.

It was eventually given clearance to leave at about 13:00 GMT on Sunday.

The Solent remains open, but ships are being advised to navigate with caution.

Cargo losses at sea are rare but not unheard of, especially in bad weather.

Steve Wenham, from Portsmouth, who has worked on ferries in the Solent, said the Baltic Klipper was a refrigerated vessel specialising in soft fruits, and was a “regular visitor” to the area.

“She normally does a round-robin trip every month from the Caribbean or West Africa,” he said.

He said he was “surprised” by the incident and said something like this had not happened here in the Solent in recent times.

“If a ship loses containers, normally it’s somewhere where the seas are extremely rough,” he added.