Tourists horrified after human leg washes up on popular Spanish beach

A human leg and part of a hip was discovered by a passerby walking along the seashore in the resort of Gandia

The body parts washed up on Gandia Beach, south of Valencia (file photo) (Wkimedia Commons)

Tourists were left horrified after a human leg was found washed up on a popular Spanish beach.

A human leg and part of a hip were discovered by a passerby walking along the seashore in the east coast resort of Gandia.

The woman spotted an object in the sand and dug it out with a stick before calling emergency services, Spanish newspaper informacion.es reported.

A full investigation is now underway to identify the victim and their cause of death.

Police believe the remains may have come from someone on board a ship that was transporting people from North Africa to Europe, according to Las Provincias.

It is not known exactly where the ship was headed to, but police believe it may have been travelling to Spain or Italy.

Las Provincias also reported an autopsy has been carried out, that confirmed the remains had been in the water for three weeks, citing a document from the Forensic Anatomical Institute of Valencia.

Police believe the leg and hip, which were in an advanced state of decomposition, were detached from the body due to the impact of the sea.

“As everything indicates that the leg was detached from the body due to the strong waves, given that it is entire from hip to ankle, it is likely that there are other remains of the body in the sea,” a source from the investigation said, Las Provincias reported.

The area where the remains were found has now been sealed off. A search is also being carried out to find the rest of the corpse.