Natalie Christopher’s boyfriend describes grief after death in Greece

The boyfriend of British astrophysicist Natalie Christopher has spoken for the first time of his heartbreak at her tragic death on a Greek island.

Kyriakos Ashikalis said he was ‘devastated’ at the loss of his 34-year-old girlfriend after she plunged down a 65ft ravine while out running on Monday.

Mr Ashikalis raised the alarm about Dr Christopher’s disappearance when she failed to return to the holiday cottage where they were staying on Ikaria.

The 38-year-old said: ‘It is hard to put into words how I am feeling now. Of course I am devastated and it is so hard to talk about what has happened.

‘There will be a time when I can talk, but it is not now.’

Mr Ashikalis, a board member at a travel company, had known Dr Christopher for five years and they both lived in Cyprus.

He has remained on the island since she was discovered on Wednesday and identified his girlfriend’s body by her clothing including her distinctive running shoes.  

Dr Natalie Christopher, 34, was discovered on Wednesday

Kyriakos Ashikalis, 38, (left) had reported Dr Natalie Christopher, 34, (right) missing on Monday morning when she failed to return from her jog on the Aegean island of Ikaria

Members of the rescue team after they recovered the body of Dr Natalie Christopher, one of the rescuers described how her 38-year-old boyfriend had to be restrained by officers on Wednesday evening at the scene

Members of the rescue team after they recovered the body of Dr Natalie Christopher, one of the rescuers described how her 38-year-old boyfriend had to be restrained by officers on Wednesday evening at the scene

Dr Christopher was a keen runner and her boyfriend says she went out for a jog on the Aegean island of Ikaria on Monday morning - her body was found around a mile from where she was staying with her boyfriend in Kerame

Dr Christopher was a keen runner and her boyfriend says she went out for a jog on the Aegean island of Ikaria on Monday morning – her body was found around a mile from where she was staying with her boyfriend in Kerame

Mr Ashikalis has remained on the island of Ikaria since she was discovered on Wednesday but plans to return to his home in Nicosia, Cyprus over the weekend

Mr Ashikalis has remained on the island of Ikaria since she was discovered on Wednesday but plans to return to his home in Nicosia, Cyprus over the weekend

He plans to return home to Nicosia, Cyprus over the weekend, adding: ‘There are a few things that still have to be sorted out and I will be here until they are finished.’ 

 A coroner ruled her death was most likely accidental after a preliminary examination at the scene where search and rescue workers found her body. 

A rescuer had earlier described how Mr Ashikalis was restrained by police officers as he cried out in anguish where her body was found at the bottom of the gorge. 

‘He was screaming and crying and tried to run up the track to be with her,’ said one rescue worker. ‘He was distraught and pacing up and down and trying to get past the police. He wanted to see the body. I don’t think he could believe that she was dead. 

‘I saw him later and he had calmed down, but his face was completely white. I have never seen someone so drained of any colour.’

Volunteer fireman Vagelis Kriaras, who first discovered Dr Christopher, revealed Mr Ashikalis’s message to him on Wednesday night.

He wrote to Mr Kriaras: ‘To all the kind-hearted lads that helped, thank you so much. Civil protection, volunteers and firefighters … thank you.’ 

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.

The coroner said his preliminary examination led him to believe the astrophysicists’ death was ‘almost certainly an accident’.

He said: ‘There was a large pool of blood under her head. She has a very serious head injury. Everything shows that death came from a fall from a height. ‘

He said a further examination of the body and autopsy would reveal the exact circumstances of her death.

Local police and volunteer firefighters who took part in the search told Mail Online it was likely Dr Christopher fell while trying to climb up or down a 13ft cliff along the running trail.

After falling and hitting her head at the bottom of the ravine a large boulder that was dislodged during her fall landed on her hip.

Rescue workers found her mobile phone in a pouch used by runners around her waist.

Dr Christopher's body is transported in a coffin from the accident area to the hospital in a car

Dr Christopher’s body is transported in a coffin from the accident area to the hospital in a car

Coroner Nikos Karakoukis speaks with police officers this morning near the area where Dr Christopher was found

Coroner Nikos Karakoukis speaks with police officers this morning near the area where Dr Christopher was found

Volunteer fireman Vagelis Kriaras told Greek TV he had been in communication with Dr Christopher's grieving boyfriend, who wrote him: 'To all the kind-hearted lads ('leventis') that helped, thank you so much. Civil protection, volunteers and firefighters ... thank you'

Volunteer fireman Vagelis Kriaras told Greek TV he had been in communication with Dr Christopher’s grieving boyfriend, who wrote him: ‘To all the kind-hearted lads (‘leventis’) that helped, thank you so much. Civil protection, volunteers and firefighters … thank you’

Search leader Costas Markakis said it wasn’t certain if Dr Christopher had been climbing up or down the ravine when she fell.

But he said lots of rain over the winter months meant that rocks were unstable.

He said: ‘The rocks in the area are very loose after we had a bad winter with lots of rain. They are not stable.

‘All the local people know this and do not attempt to climb them.

Forensic teams accompanied the coroner to the ravine where Christopher’s body was discovered around 4.30pm on Wednesday.

Police officers block the road towards the area where the body of missing 34-year-old British Natalie Christopher was found on the island of Ikaria

Police officers block the road towards the area where the body of missing 34-year-old British Natalie Christopher was found on the island of Ikaria

He was helped down the steep slope to carry out his examination yesterday before the body was placed on a stretcher and lifted back to the track.

A coffin containing the scientist’s body was placed in the back of a 4×4 and driven to the local airport to be flown back to Athens for a full autopsy.

Forensic teams spent almost three hours at the scene carrying out a fingertip search and taking photographs of the body and the position of fallen rocks.

A procession of vehicles, including a water truck and ambulance, left after the coroner was driven away with Ikaria’s police chief. 

At around 9pm on the eve of her disappearance she posted photos from a trip to Seychelles Beach where she spoke of her interest in climbing

At around 9pm on the eve of her disappearance she posted photos from a trip to Seychelles Beach where she spoke of her interest in climbing

Dr Christopher and her Cypriot boyfriend had been staying at the Blue Seaside Studios overlooking the sparkling blue sea in the small resort of Kerame on the picturesque island of Ikaria.

They had been due to fly back to Nicosia in Cyprus on Monday when Dr Christopher, an avid runner and rock climber, left for a morning jog.

She ran up a steep concrete pathway from her cottage to a dusty track leading off the main road running through the island.

A police source told Mail Online Dr Christopher had left the one bedroom holiday cottage at 8am without having any breakfast.

Her boyfriend called her on his mobile phone to tell her to return to the cottage as they were due to fly out from the island in the early afternoon.

After speaking to her briefly he was unable to contact her and later raised the alarm.

Friend’s tribute to ‘one of a kind’ runner, astronomer, triathlete and nature lover 

Natalie Christopher in a social media photo

Natalie Christopher in a social media photo

A running colleague of Natalie Christopher posted a heartfelt tribute to her last night calling her ‘ one of a kind’

Christelle de Jäger from the Cyprus Trail Runners wrote on the club’s Facebook page: ‘Trail runner, astronomer, triathlete, climber, nature lover, peace activist, feminist and animal protector – Natalie Christopher was all of these, and more.

‘One of the most intelligent people we have ever met, she had a passion for life, and lived it to the full, with unbounded joy.

‘When she was trail running, we could always hear her coming. She would whoop with delight through the forest, and laugh and shriek and squeal like a child as she danced down rocky hillsides, as light as a gazelle on her feet.

‘She would ooh with wonder at the sky above, and then aah about the beauty of small blue orchid in the crevice of a rock.

‘A cat lover, Natalie could never resist taking in yet another abandoned, wounded kitten. There may not have been room in her house but there was always room in her heart. She travelled with cat food in her car so that she could feed any hungry animals she saw. And when she once found a dog run over and abandoned, she cared for the dog too, paying for vet costs from her limited income, and making sure it eventually found a good home in the UK.

‘When she put on her astronomy hat to talk about black holes and galaxies to audiences of laypeople, her passion for her subject inspired us to want to know more about the universe we live in.

‘Most importantly, on our still divided island, Natalie was loved and respected by people from all over Cyprus – north, south, east and west. She truly loved her country, and wanted to bring Cypriots together from across the ‘divide’.

‘Despite not being a natural early riser, Natalie somehow found time She was one of a kind, and the island has a huge, impossible-to-fill hole on it now.

‘She really did change lives, and she will never be forgotten.

‘We hope Natalie is now running among the stars and planets she loved so much – whooping through the milky way and leaping over moonbeams.’ 

Dr Christopher's friends paid tribute to her joyous outlook on life and her compassion

Dr Christopher’s friends paid tribute to her joyous outlook on life and her compassion

The holiday cottage where the 34-year-old British astrophysicist was staying before she was found dead in a ravine

The holiday cottage where the 34-year-old British astrophysicist was staying before she was found dead in a ravine

More than 100 volunteer firefighters joined the search along with a police helicopter with a heat seeking camera.

The area where Dr Christopher was ultimately found had been searched three times by rescue workers but due to the rocky terrain and thick undergrowth had not seen her body.

Michael Christodolou, 38, was among the first on the scene after an alert went out over their walkie talkies that a body had been found.

He said: ‘As soon as we saw the body it was obvious there was no sign of life. We were all very despondent as we had hopes that she would be found alive. 

Before arriving on the island of Ikaria Dr Christopher posted a photo of her bathing in waters at Lemonakia Beach on the neighbouring island of Samos

Before arriving on the island of Ikaria Dr Christopher posted a photo of her bathing in waters at Lemonakia Beach on the neighbouring island of Samos

‘Some of those taking part were very distressed. They had high hopes that with so many people she would be found, but it was obvious that there was no hope for her.’

More than a dozen of Christopher’s friends ,including several from a running club in Cyprus that she belonged to, had flown to Ikaria to join in the search.

They were left devastated after word quickly spread that a body had been found. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk