Boyfriend of scientist who fell to death on Greek isle tells of agony

Slipped: Dr Natalie Christopher THE boyfriend of a British astrophysicist who fell to her death down a 65ft ravine in Greece has spoken of his devastation.

Dr Natalie Christopher (35), from London, had been reported missing by her partner on Monday.

Kyriakos Ashikalis, who contacted the police when she failed to return to their holiday hotel from a run on the Greek island of Ikaria, said it was hard to put into words how he was feeling.

A preliminary examination found that the 35-year-old’s death was accidental.

“Of course I am devastated and it is so hard to talk about what has happened,” he told MailOnline. “There will be a time when I can talk, but it is not now.”

Mr Ashikalis had remained on the island while the search for his partner continued, but planned to return his home in Nicosia, Cyprus, over the weekend.

“There are a few things that still have to be sorted out and I will be here until they are finished,” he said.

After she was reported missing a team of police, firefighters, volunteers and coastguards scoured the area where Dr Christopher had been, an area of many paths that traversed along ravines and steep cliffs.

The 34-year-old was found just 600 metres from the hotel where she had been staying, police said on Wednesday.

Rescuers told Greece’s state ERT TV that Dr Christopher appeared to have slipped.

Local television reported on Wednesday night that she had been found “lying on her back, crushed by several large rocks”.

Coroner Nikos Karakoukis, who travelled to the island from Athens, said he found a large pool of blood under her head where it had struck a rock.

“She has a very serious head injury. Everything shows that death came from a fall from a height,” he said.

The coroner added a further examination of the body and autopsy would reveal the exact circumstances of her death.