A body was discovered underneath a barge in the Mississippi River near downtown St. Paul on Wednesday afternoon, according to authorities.

Emergency dispatch received a call that a body was under a barge in the river just south of the Robert Street Bridge, said Randy Gustafson, spokesman for the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office.

Crews from the St. Paul Fire Department pulled the body out, Gustafson said.

It's not known if the person is male or female or how the body came to be there, he said.

St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard said the body was transferred to the Ramsey County medical examiner's office.

NICOLE NORFLEET