BADUNG, Bali — Police are investigating after the body of a man believed to be a foreign national was recovered from waters off Batu Mejan Beach in Canggu on Thursday, July 30, 2026.

The body was spotted around 500 to 600 metres offshore by local fisherman I Wayan Sudiarta, 55, while he was checking his fishing traps. Police said the victim had become entangled in a rope attached to a buoy marking the traps.

“I suddenly saw a man’s body floating in the water, entangled in the rope connected to my fishing trap buoy,” the fisherman told police, according to Badung Police spokesperson Aiptu Ni Nyoman Ayu Inastuti on Friday, July 31, 2026.

The discovery was reported to lifeguards, who alerted authorities. Officers from the Badung Water Police, North Kuta Police and Munggu lifeguards travelled to the scene by rubber boat before recovering the body and bringing it ashore at Old Man’s Beach.

A preliminary examination by the Badung Police forensic team found the body was in an advanced state of decomposition, with much of the skin peeling away after prolonged exposure to seawater.

Investigators also observed blood-tinged fluid around one ear and marks on the neck. Police emphasised that the findings are part of the initial examination, and the cause of death has yet to be determined.

A doctor from the North Kuta Community Health Centre estimated the man had died between six and 12 hours before he was found, noting that seawater can accelerate certain post-mortem changes compared with bodies recovered on land.

The body was later taken by Badung Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) ambulance to Prof. Dr. I.G.N.G. Ngoerah Hospital in Denpasar for an autopsy and formal identification.

Police are now reviewing reports of missing persons and recent drowning incidents that could be linked to the case while awaiting the results of forensic examinations.

“Based on the preliminary examination, the victim is believed to be a foreign national. However, both the identity of the victim and the cause of death are still awaiting confirmation through the identification and autopsy process,” Ayu said.

Authorities have not released any further information as the investigation continues.