THE Marine Police Division was yesterday trying to identify the body of a man which was pulled from the Kingston Harbour Monday night.

Deputy Superintendent Oral Harrison said divers who spent much of Monday afternoon searching for the body retrieved it about 7:00 pm.

"We have not identified it as yet due to the advanced state of decomposition," said Harrison.

The Kingston Central Police were, in the meantime, carrying out investigations to determine if there was any foul play in the death of the man.

The decomposing body, believed to be in the mid-forties, was first seen by fishermen in the murky waters near the Victoria Pier shortly after midday Monday.

Harrison yesterday dismissed allegations made by onlookers Monday that the police were not properly equipped to remove bodies from the sea.

"The dive team that we have is very equipped. We had no problems in recovering the body at that time," he said.

Efforts to retrieve the body were complicated after it slipped from hooks the police were using to pull it and sank into the murky waters.