Dead body found in Paris canal

French authorities have found a body of a man in a Paris canal that has been wildly popular with locals and tourists as a swimming spot to cool off in the early summer heatwave, police said.

The body was found early on July 4 in the Canal Saint-Martin in the north of the city centre whose banks have in recent weeks been thronged with bathers in the record temperatures.

The man was brought to the surface by members of the fire brigade, police said.

His body was very swollen, suggesting he had been in the water for several days.

The dead man had no identity papers on him, said the police source, who asked not to be named.

An investigation is now in progress into the cause of death.

Prosecutors said that the man appeared to be aged 25-35.

-The Strait Times