body in heathcote river in Canterbury District, 4:00pm

Late this morning a person walking along the bank of the Heathcote River noticed what she believed to be a body in the river and she notified the Police.

Police attended and closed off the area in order to begin an investigation and an examination of the surrounding area.

About mid afternoon with the help of the Fire Service Police recovered a man's body from a weed bank in the river near the end of Louisson Place Opawa.

Enquiries are continuing into the situation surrounding the man's body in the river as there are some unexplained circumstances and the Police will be talking to the man's family. Positive identification has yet to be made but he is believed to be a 44 year old local man.

A post mortem examination will be carried out this evening.