The body of veteran hiker Christos Stavrianidis was found in the 800-metre (2,600-feet) deep ravine in Fraktou forest, the Ekav national emergency centre told AFP.

Stavrianidis was with another experienced hiker, Dimitris Kioroglou, when they were surprised on Monday.

"I suddenly saw a bear which attacked me," Kioroglou told news portal NewsIT.

"My dog delayed it for a few seconds. I used pepper spray, and it went towards my friend and knocked him into the ravine," he said.

Panos Stefanou, spokesman for the wildlife group Arcturos, which runs a bear sanctuary, said the animal was likely defending itself.

"This is more a defensive behaviour, not an attack. The bear is trying to push back what it sees as a threat," he told ERT television.

The hikers were heading towards the remains of a Greek warplane that crashed in the area in the 1950s.

Stavrianidis found the plane deep in the forest last August. He was leading efforts to identify a more accessible route to its location to enable more people to visit the wreckage.

"It's a beautiful discovery that deserves to be viewed on location... the fuselage is nearly intact," he told a local journalist last year. "It's a treasure of nature and should be left (in the forest)," he said.