Police launched a murder probe as a tourist was found dead in a water storage tank in Indonesia.

The foreign man, believed to be an Australian, was discovered naked and covered in wounds inside the empty reservoir at a rented Airbnb on Bali island, on March 4.

Landlord Nyoman Predangga said he had ordered a handyman named Ketut to check on the container as the water supply was blocked in the morning. However, the worker found the corpse slumped over inside the tank.

The property owner told local media that the dead man was Australian but authorities did not confirm his identity.

AKP I Ketut Sukadi, spokesman for the Denpasar Police, said: 'Initially, the victim's body was mistaken as a mannequin. After checking again, it turned out to be a human body and the repairman immediately informed the owner of the house.

'The results of the crime scene investigation found the man was without clothes and had abrasions on the left knee, right chest, lower left chest, and the left waist. His genitals were leaking fluid and his mouth was foaming. His back was already bruised and there was water pooling under his feet.'

Rescue teams said they had difficulty collecting the body as the water tank was on the fourth floor of the building, and the balcony under it was narrow.

The corpse was successfully recovered and taken to the Prof. Dr. IGNG Ngoerah General Hospital for a post-mortem exam.

The other tenants claimed they had seen a 'suspicious' hooded figure wearing dark clothes the night before the body was discovered.

A resident with the initials NT, 49, said: 'I heard screams coming from the upper floors last night. Out of curiosity, I went up to the third floor and found that the other boarding house residents had already gathered there.

'Someone was dressed in all black behind the balcony door, but no one dared to open it because we were afraid that the person was carrying a sharp weapon. We waited a few minutes before opening the door, but the person was already gone. They left behind a set of dirty footprints.'

I Nyoman Sidakarya, head of the local rescue office, said the cause of the tourist's death was still being investigated.