A 20-year-old Dutch man has been arrested on Crete for stabbing an 11-year-old Russian boy who is seriously ill in hospital, RTL news reports.

The boy was found seriously injured in a hotel car park on Tuesday night but is now out of danger. Police in Heraklion told RTL the Dutch youth, who worked at the hotel, had washed and tried to hide the knife used in the attack.

Local news agency Eten says the boy was on holiday with his parents and stabbed up to 20 times. Other reports say he was stabbed in the back.

The Dutch youth has just started working for the hotel’s entertainment team. He was apparently found in possession of the the boy’s mobile phone and laptop.