The mummified body of a man thought to have died 20 years ago was found in the chimney of an industrial building in Finland while it was being demolished yesterday.

Identification papers found in a wallet in the man's pocket indicated that the body belonged to a man aged around 57 who had disappeared in 1991 and was declared dead in the early 2000s, tabloid Ilta-Sanomat reported.

"The police are investigating whether the man was placed in the chimney or went there himself," criminal investigator Juha Juurinen told Finnish news agency STT.

The chimney, in a factory in the city of Vantaa near the Finnish capital, had not been used for decades.