Villagers in Malaysia's northeastern coastal state of Terengganu are celebrating a windfall after raiding cargo containers which washed up on local beaches.

Hundreds of villagers rushed to the seven containers, which were found late Sunday evening and on Monday, with some suffering minor injuries in the excitement, said the Star newspaper.

Newspaper photos showed enthusiastic crowds swarming over containers to plunder the contents, with villagers in one settlement reportedly using an excavator to break open a container.

"This is the first time anything like this has happened. I don't know if these goods were a gift from God," villager Razak Hussin, 35, was quoted as saying in the New Straits Times .

"One thing is sure, the people loved it and it was like a festival here."

Police probe

The containers reportedly contained a range of goods including cigarettes, clothing and processed tiger prawns from Cambodia. By the time police arrived, all but one container had been emptied.

Local police said they were investigating the origin of the containers, which they had seized.

"We are now attempting to establish where the cargo came from," Terengganu police chief Hussin Ismail told AFP .

"As it is now, we are treating this case as 'unclaimed properties'," he said without elaborating, when asked if the villagers would be prosecuted.