A dead body of a man who has been identified as James Kazembe was on Monday found floating on a river in the capital Lilongwe.

Relatives who identified the body said the 19-year-old was a resident of Area 23 in the city.

Father to the deceased, Steven Kazembe, said that his son who was working with the community police in Area 2, was reported missing on Saturday.

He said that on the fateful day, his son was in company of his workmate returning to their duty station from Kamuzu Central Hospital where he went to cheer his ailing relative.

They decided to take the shortcut route but upon reaching the river, they met unknown thugs who wanted to attack them.

In a bid to escape, the two plunged in the water, but the deceased failed to swim while his friend managed to swim to the safer side and reported the ordeal to his supervisor who then reported to police.

The deceased hailed from Saidi village, Traditional Authority Nsamala in Balaka district.