Summary:
French police are trying to identify the body of a man found in an air duct in a bank.

Full article:
By . Simon Tomlinson . Last updated at 1:00 PM on 25th January 2012 . A mummified body has been discovered inside an air duct in a French bank after workers had been complaining of a bad smell for several months. Police and firefighters were last night attempting to dislodge the half-rotten corpse at a branch of Credit Foncier in Lyon, eastern France. Investigators were trying establish if it was an attempted break-in that went wrong or a homeless man seeking refuge, according to a local prosecutor. Macabre: French police make their way into the Credit Foncier bank in Lyon as they investigate the discovery of a mummified body in the air duct . Marc Desert said it may be the body of an 'unlucky burglar' who got stuck, according to the Daily Telegraph. The body was found in a bend in . the ducting, which is just 20 inches in diameter. The vent leads from . the roof to a staff bathroom. Employees at the bank had complained since the end of last summer about a bad smell coming from the air vent. Their complaints prompted an inspection by maintenance workers which led to the macabre discovery on Monday, it was reported by Lyon Capitale. Officers were hoping to remove the body intact to help with the process of identification. Grim operation: Media wait outside the building as officers and firefighters attempt to dislodge the rotten corpse so they can try to identify the body .