The body of a missing Spanish five-year-old girl has been found 120 miles away from where British toddler Madeleine McCann disappeared last year.

SHOWS: (EU) HUELVA, SPAIN (MARCH 8, 2008) (TVE) -

The body of Mari Luz Cortes, a five-year-old Spanish girl who disappeared earlier this year, was found near the southern city of Huelva, in Spain.

The Civil Guard said on Saturday (March 8) the badly decomposed body of the girl was found floating in an estuary near Huelva, just 120 miles away from where British toddler Madeleine McCann disappeared.

Madeleine McCann, three, went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3 last year while her parents ate dinner at a nearby tapas bar with friends.

Mari Luz Cortes, who disappeared on January 13, was identified because of the clothes she was wearing but further DNA tests will be carried out. Reports in the Spanish media said the body was found by an oil refinery worker.

Huelva mayor Pedro Rodriguez said the child had been struck on the head but the cause of death was not known. Rodriguez declared three days of mourning starting on Sunday (March 9).

The child vanished when she went out to a newspaper stand to buy potato chips. Since then, police and relatives and friends have staged a massive search but no arrests have been made.

Gerry and Kate McCann, parents of the missing Madeleine offered their prayers and sympathy to the family of Mari Luz Cortes.