Dead body found in barrel at Malibu beach

A homicide investigation was in progress after a man's body was found inside a container at a Malibu beach in Los Angeles County on Monday.

Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a dead body found inside a 55-gallon drum on the beach at Malibu Lagoon State Beach on Monday morning.

A lifeguard saw the barrel floating in the lagoon around 10 a.m. local time, according to the sheriff's department. The lifeguard then got the barrel and opened it, finding the body inside.

The sheriff's department said the person was an adult Black male who was unclothed. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Authorities were waiting for the coroner to identify the body, which will be processed at the beach, the sheriff's department said Monday evening. 

It was unclear how long the container and the body had been in the water.

No cause of death was immediately determined, but a homicide investigation was in progress.