Eight bodies, believed to be of foreign fishermen, have been washed ashore in Kelantan, a senior police official said today.

Mohamad Soaihami, Bachok district police chief, said the first body was discovered late Sunday and the remaining bodies were found today.

The decomposing bodies were found along the five-kilometre Melawi beach which flanks the South China Sea.

Mohamad said police believe they are foreign fishermen because there was no report of local fishermen going missing.

Police said no identification documents were found with the bodies, which have been taken to a local hospital. - AFP