A view of an empty beach from a closed beach bar at the port town of Rafina near Athens on April 29, 2020. LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The body of an unidentified man was recovered Sunday off a popular beach northeast of the Greek capital with a 22-pound barbell tethered to his leg with a rope, the coast guard said, marking the second time in days that an exercise weight was found attached to human remains in a body of water.

Authorities were alerted to the presence of the body at Schinias beach near the town of Marathon, early Sunday afternoon. A diver retrieved the body about 110 yards from shore. An ambulance took the body to a hospital where the man's death was confirmed. According to authorities, the body had been in the water for several days.

The man was estimated to be 40-45 years old. An autopsy was to take place later. Authorities at the nearby port of Rafina were investigating.

Officials did not say if anyone on the beach spotted the body initially, but Schinias beach usually attracts large crowds. According to the travel agency Greeka, it is "one of the most popular beach destinations in the region."

The incident comes just days after a human skull padlocked to an exercise dumbbell were fished out of a New Orleans waterway. The 15-pound dumbbell was padlocked around the skull, which was "fully decomposed, lacking a jaw or the top row of teeth," according to a police report.

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