A dead body was found floating out at sea in the area known as Hurds Bank on Thursday, police said in a statement.

The police said that they were informed that a body had been spotted at around 3pm around 15 nautical miles off of Malta’s coast at Hurds Bank.

The body, which was in an advanced state of decomposition, was picked by the Armed Forces of Malta who went out on a patrol boat and brought ashore at Hay Wharf.

Police said that an autopsy will take place to offer more details on the case.

Duty magistrate Ian Farrugia is leading an inquiry, while police said that their investigations are also ongoing.

The body is the second to be found out at sea in the space of a few hours.

Earlier in the day, the body of a woman – which was also in an advanced state of decomposition – was found in the sea off Marsalforn in Gozo.

An autopsy on the corpse is also expected in the coming days.