The same source said that the body was spotted at 7:10 am on the Minho River, in front of the pools of Vila Nova de Cerveira.

According to the captain of the port of Caminha, Pedro Cervãens Costa, the body was found floating, probably due to the water temperature.

"The waters of the river are very hot, which will have accelerated the flotation," he said.

According to Pedro Costa, by 08:30 the corpse had already been removed from the water by the Vila Nova de Cerveira Volunteer Fire-fighters and taken ashore in a Navy vessel.

The body was "sighted by a fire-fighter" from the corporation of Vila Nova de Cerveira, about 500 metres upstream from the quay where the navy ship was, he added.

The corpse will be transported to the Institute of Forensic Medicine of Viana do Castelo.

The triathlete disappeared on Sunday while crossing the Minho River during the XII Cerveira-Tomiño Friendship Triathlon, organised by the municipalities of Vila Nova de Cerveira, Alto Minho, and Tomiño, Galicia.