Thessaloniki, Greece (AFP)—A veteran Greek hiker died Tuesday in a ravine fall in the north of the country after a bear encounter, rescuers said.

Christos Stavrianidis was declared dead at Kavala hospital shortly after he was found in the 800-metre (2,600-foot) ravine in Fraktou forest in northeastern Greece, the Ekav national emergency centre told AFP.

Stavrianidis was in the forest with another experienced hiker, Dimitris Kioroglou, when the incident happened 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 headed to where my friend was and knocked him into the ravine,” he said.

Panos Stefanou, spokesman for Greece wildlife group Arcturos, said the bear 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 state TV ERT.

The hikers were heading towards the remains of a Greek warplane that crashed in the area some seven decades earlier.

Stavrianidis had 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 had told a local journalist last year.

“It’s a treasure of nature and should be left (in the forest),” he had said.