Athens - A 20-year-old British woman was detained by Greek police on Monday on suspicion of strangling her newborn child in a hotel room on the holiday island of Crete, reports said.

Reports said the incident occurred in the woman's hotel room at the northern coastal resort town of Malia. Hotel staff had reportedly rushed the woman to a hospital to receive treatment for heavy bleeding after giving birth to the baby in her room.

British Embassy officials in Athens said the woman, who has not been named, will be charged over the death of her baby but first must appear before a public prosecutor.

The official, who asked not to be named, said the woman has not been formally charged yet because she is still receiving treatment at a hospital in the city of Iraklion.

Television reports said police discovered the child in the hotel room with sheets covering its face and body and that a coroner's report found that the child had died of asphyxiation.

The woman was on vacation in Crete with her sister and a female friend from Britain, who reported the incident. (dpa)