A 41-year-old French tourist has died after being found unconscious earlier at Balos, a beach near Chania in Crete, during a hike undertaken in high temperatures and intense sunshine.

The woman and her partner had travelled to the area in the afternoon. According to an update from the Fire Service’s Coordination Centre, they left their car in the car park at Falasarna and continued on foot to Balos beach along a difficult, rugged path.

Despite a sign at the site prohibiting access to the route, the couple took decided to hike it anyway. The path to the beach takes a long time to cover and is extremely demanding because of the terrain. On the way back, about a kilometre from the car park, the woman collapsed from dehydration. Her partner ran back to the car for water and also alerted the authorities via the emergency line 112.

A large-scale operation followed, involving firefighters from Kissamos Fire Station and a specialist forest-operations team, who eventually located the woman, who was unconscious. She was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until paramedics from the National Centre for Emergency Care arrived and took over her care.

According to the update, the 41-year-old died on the way to hospital.