NOTE: PICTURES ARE GRAPHIC

A tourist's dismembered pelvis has been found in a rubbish dump sparking a murder investigation on the island of the Full Moon Party in Thailand.

The severed body part was discovered by Burmese waste collector Mimi, 30, while she was sorting garbage with her son-in-law Aum at a landfill site on Koh Phangan at around 10:30 am on August 3.

Mimi said she stumbled upon a heavy bag - said to have been collected from somewhere in the island's Ban-Tai subdistrict - that emitted a foul stench, and had asked Aum to open it up.

Thinking there was a pig carcass inside, the pair tore open the sack but were revolted to find the bloody pelvis along with human intestines stuffed inside, wrapped in four layers of plastic.

The alarmed workers called the police to inform them of the gruesome discovery. The pelvis has now been transported to the Pha Ngan Hospital for an examination.

Police Colonel Panya Niratimanond, superintendent of the Koh Phangan Police Station, and Police Captain Thada Petchkarn, the deputy commander of Police Forensic Science Center 8, arrived at the scene at around 12 noon to inspect the rubbish dump.

Police Captain Thada said: 'We believe the body part belongs to a foreign man because of its large shape and size. It weighed about five kilogrammes and was around 50 centimeters wide.

'A murder investigation has been launched. We believe this is a tourist. We are checking people who are arriving and leaving the island for anyone behaving suspiciously.'

Officers said the man had likely died at least 24 hours before his pelvis was found. They scoured the dumpsite for more severed body parts, but found none.

Local media reported that only workers were allowed to enter the waste dump and that the bag must have been picked up from a residential area by a garbage truck driver.

Police said they were inspecting nearby shops to find recent sales of cutting equipment. They were also checking hotels and accommodations for any reports of missing persons.

Police Colonel Panya said travel authorities have been instructed to be vigilant of people travelling out of Koh Phangan as the investigation continues.

The Full Moon Party is a massive beach party that takes place on the island of Koh Phangan in Thailand every month on the night of the full moon. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Thailand, and every month attracts up to 30,000 tourists from around the world, including the United Kingdom and Australia.