Russian tourist found dead in water off Nissi Beach

The body of a Russian tourist vacationing in Cyprus was found Sunday morning off the coast in Ayia Napa, with authorities receiving a missing person report hours later.

Police say the body of 48-year-old Marina Suzdaltseva had been spotted in the sea around 7am on Sunday, when a caller notified authorities that a woman was floating unconscious in the water in the Nissi Beach area.

Staff from a nearby hotel joined a rescue operation and brought the woman back to shore. Suzdaltseva was then transported to the Emergency Room at the Famagusta General Hospital where doctors on duty pronounced her dead on arrival accordign to local reports.

Preliminary results from an autopsy on Monday revealed that the cause of death was drowning. 

The identity of the victim had remained unknown for several hours.

But around 3:30pm, Ayia Napa police received a missing person report, filed by a man, who later turned out to be the victim’s husband.

Officers had called him in for a possible body identification, which reportedly took place later in the afternoon around 6pm.

Police are carrying on with an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Suzdaltseva’s death. 

Local media reports cited witnesses saying the sea was calm on Sunday morning.

Suzdaltseva was on vacation in Cyprus with her husband and child.