A German tourist, said to be suffering from depression, jumped to his death from a cliff while with park rangers on a nature trail in Krabi on Saturday afternoon. His body was found below the cliff at 1am on Sunday.

Police later identified him as "Loo Kevin Andre", although it was unclear whether that was the name in his passport.

The Hat Noppharat Thara - Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park chief said the tourist jumped suddenly, leaving staff shocked.

The chief said on Saturday afternoon he received a telephone call from a German man who told him that his son, a tourist called Loo, had been in the Khao Ngon Nak mountain area. The caller said he was afraid Loo, who was suffering from depression, would take his own life and asked park officials to look for him.

Staff checked the log book and found that Loo started hiking at 11.12am.

Park rangers spotted Loo at about 5.30pm. They asked the tourist to come down to their office with them, and he agreed.

At about 6.30pm, after a 2km descent from the spot where he was found, Loo received a telephone call. When he ended the call, Loo turned to the rangers, said he was sorry, ran towards the edge of a cliff and jumped off. Park rangers said he moved so quickly they were unable to stop him.

Loo's body was found at about 1.00am on Sunday at a spot below the cliff.

Police said the German embassy would be informed, pending the result of the autopsy.

The 3.7km nature trail on the Khao Ngon Nak mountain, about 500 metres above sea level, is popular among adventure-loving tourists.