Residents of Current North Eleuthera found themselves battling an early morning fire, yesterday morning, which led to the gruesome discovery of a body burnt beyond recognition.

According to police reports, shortly before 3:00 a.m., residents jumped into rescue mode as they attempted to extinguish a fire that engulfed a two- storey home before spreading to at least three adjacent homes.

Police officers in Eleuthera were alerted to the fire but when officers arrived on the scene the home and surrounding homes were already ablaze.

Police say despite the best attempts by firefighters and community volunteers, the fire destroyed the homes along with six vehicles.

Once the fire was extinguished, the officers conducted a search of one of the homes and found the charred remains of a body burnt beyond recognition, reportedly to be that of a woman, police said.

An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.

A team of officers from the Police Fire Services and Central Detective Unit are in Eleuthera assisting with the investigation.