A body of a 33-year-old Chinese national was recovered from the Spaarwater Dam in Duduza east of Johannesburg on Friday, police said.

"The man was reported missing from his home in Johannesburg on Sunday," Inspector Yakub Rasool said.

Police found a car on the banks of the dam and traced its owner, who told them that he had sold the car to the man.

He was traced and police discovered that he had left his home to go fishing at the dam.

Divers started searching for the man on Thursday and his body was retrieved from the water on Friday afternoon.

His inflatable boat was found floating in the dam.

An inquest docket has been opened to investigate the cause of his death, Rasool said.

Sapa