Body found in Qld drain identified as male

A body found in a stormwater drain in central Queensland has been identified as male, police say.

Efforts to extract the remains are ongoing with council engineers and police on the scene at Gladstone Bernaraby Road in Toolooa, just south of Gladstone

The body was discovered on Thursday morning after local businesses reported a foul smell.

The scene was under guard overnight, and police say they may need to cut open the road to recover the man's body.

Specialist forensic officers from Brisbane travelled to Gladstone to assist in fully identifying the remains.

Detective Acting Inspector Luke Peachey said the body had most likely been there for at least a week, and it could have washed down from other waterways.

"At the moment we're just trying to establish that," he e told reporters on Thursday.

"We've got council engineers here at the moment and hopefully they'll give us a clearer idea of where this person may have come from."