Police in Paphos on Friday said they had launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the recovery of a dead body from the sea near the village of Peyia.

The body, which was identified as that of a 31-year-old Ukrainian man who lived in Paphos, was recovered from the sea following an operation by the joint rescue coordination centre (JRCC) after it had been alerted to the situation at around 3pm on Thursday.

Holidaymakers in the area had contacted the police earlier in the day saying they had seen from the Xerolimni beach a man walking on rocks and then falling into the sea.

A tourist couple said they had then attempted to approach the man, but that he then “started swimming in different directions”. They said they had then lost sight of him.

After the JRCC activated its Nearchos rescue plan, deploying multiple boats and an air ambulance, the man was pulled from the sea at around 5pm. He was then taken to the Paphos general hospital, where his death was certified by a doctor.

A leather bag belonging to him was then found on the beach, with the contents inside allowing the police to identify the man.

Paphos police’s assistant operations director Michalis Nikolaou told the Cyprus News Agency on Friday that the man’s body has since been transferred to the Paphos general hospital’s morgue.

He added that the man was found to have some external abrasions which were caused by his fall on the rocks.