The gruesome discovery was made by members of Search and Rescue, the Durban K9 unit and police officials who were called out to the trauma unit of the Mahatma Gandhi hospital in Phoenix, south of Durban.
Police removed some of the ceiling panels, above shelves stacked with files and paper, to reach the body.
KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said that an inquest docket had been opened.
"An investigation is under way to identify and determine how it got there," added Zwane.
