A post-mortem on a man's body found in a Wellington stormwater drain may reveal whether the man was the victim of foul play, or if his death was an accident.
The body was found by a member of the public in a drain near the Te Papa museum carpark just before 1pm on Sunday, and police are treating the death as suspicious.
The man's body was removed on Sunday night but the site remained cordoned off on Monday as police continued their scene examination.
A post-mortem will be carried out on Monday, and police hope to release further details later in the day.
Detective Inspector Paul Basham says it is not yet clear how the man died.
"It is certainly an unusual circumstance to locate a body in a stormwater culvert," he said.
"We anticipate the post-mortem examination will help us determine whether the death was potentially suspicious or accidental."
Police would not release the man's name until he had been formally identified, and his next of kin was notified.
The Fire Service was helping police with scene management and technical support, while the Defence Force had provided a heavy-duty tent to cordon and contain the scene, because of strong winds in the city.
NZN