Athens, May 17 (IANS/RIA Novosti): An 11-year-old Russian boy is in critical condition in a hospital in the Greek capital after he was stabbed 21 times while vacationing with his family on the island of Crete.

Nikita Onishchenko from Moscow, who was on vacation with his mother and his younger brother, went missing Tuesday. He was found hours later in a parking lot near the hotel with multiple knife wounds in his back, chest and hands.

He was airlifted from Crete to Athens, where he underwent surgery. The boy remains in a critical condition but his life is not in danger, doctors said.

Doctors said they were particularly concerned with a spinal injury the boy sustained in the attack.

Police have detained a 20-year-old Dutch man working as an entertainer at a hotel in the seaside town of Anissaras, where the Onishchenkos were staying.

Police said the suspect took the boy to a parking lot and stabbed him after Onishchenko realized the Dutchman had stolen his laptop and a mobile telephone.

The suspect was arrested on a charge of attempted murder.