A highly decomposed body, which was recovered from Vazhamuttom near Kovalam in southern Kerala, is suspected to be of a Lithuanian tourist, who was reportedly missing since 14 March, the police said.

A highly decomposed body, which was recovered from Vazhamuttom near Kovalam, is suspected to be of a Lithuanian tourist, who was reportedly missing since 14 March, the police said.

The woman's body was recovered on Friday. The police identified the woman as 33-year-old Liga Skromane, who was visiting Kerala to seek Ayurvedic treatment for depression and had gone missing from Kovalam on 14 March.

Police commissioner of Thiruvananthapuram, P Prakash, said DNA and forensic tests would be carried out in the matter.

Liga's husband and sister, who arrived from Mangaluru on Saturday morning, saw the body and told the police that the shirt and hair were similar to that of the missing woman.

A report on NDTV said that though the woman's sister identified the body, the police is waiting for the forensic tests to be completed for an official confirmation.

"Ilze Skromane, Liga's sister, has identified the body. But we still will be going ahead with a DNA test as well as a post-mortem report to confirm the identity," senior police officer Manoj Abraham was quoted as saying in the NDTV report.

The police has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and launched a massive search to trace Liga. It has also announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh for anyone providing information about the missing woman.

Liga was staying at a private Ayurveda treatment centre at nearby Pothencode. She had come to Kovalam with her sister Ilzie on the morning of 14 March. She went missing soon after. A case was registered based on a complaint from the authorities of the treatment centre.

With inputs from PTI