KOTA BARU: A man in his 40s was found dead in the roof ceiling of the Siti Hajar Market building in Pasir Puteh early this morning.

Pasir Puteh Fire and Rescue Station operations commander Siti Nor Raihan Mohamed Harami said that after receiving an alert at 5am, a fire and rescue team arrived at the scene at 5.16am and found the man unresponsive.

She said assistance was also provided by the Pasir Puteh district police headquarters, and a ladder unit from the Fire Response Vehicle was used in the operation.

"At 6.17am, the operations commander reported that the victim was unconscious before being confirmed dead at the scene by hospital personnel," she said.

The case is now under investigation by the police forensic unit.