The police have stepped up investigations after an autopsy on the body of a man found at sea revealed severe head injuries.

Sources close to the investigations said the injuries were compatible with wounds either from a knife or a boat propeller.

The corpse was spotted shortly after 3pm on Tuesday floating off Miġra l-Ferħa in Rabat and was brought ashore on an Armed Forces of Malta patrol boat.

The man has yet to be identified, but he was “most probably” a foreigner and in his 40s.

“So far, we are considering this a suspicious death. The injuries could point towards foul play, so nothing is being excluded,” a source told the Times of Malta.

The sources said the extent of the decomposition indicated that the man could not have been in the water for more than 24 hours.

The investigators and a team of experts are analysing the sea currents that have been recorded since Monday to try to establish from which direction the body may have been carried.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera has opened an inquiry and has appointed a group of experts to assist her.