Authorities on Thursday did not rule out foul play after a body in an advanced state of decomposition was found outside Limassol general hospital.

Limassol police spokesman Lefteris Kyriacou told the Cyprus Mail the body was found around 11am at the northern part of the hospital where the helipad is located.

The body “is in advanced state of decomposition”, Kyriacou said.

Another police spokesman said the remains were just basic “skin and bone,” with media reports suggesting the body had fake nails.

The body was discovered by the crew of a private contractor carrying out cleaning works at the helipad. They alerted the police, who arrived shortly later and cordoned off the scene.

“I saw a hand, then the whole body, and I told my boss,” the worker who spotted the remains told journalists.

Kyriacou said that, at this stage in the investigations, they could not rule out anything.

“We are going through lists of missing persons, and medical examinations will take place to identify the person.”

Medical examiners Aggeliki Papetta and Orthodoxos Orthodoxou later inspected the body. Reports said a forensic anthropologist would also participate, as the body was described as being in a “skeletonised state.”

The sex of the deceased person was unknown at this time.

An anthropological examination of the body will take place at the Nicosia morgue on Friday morning.