Two young British tourists have escaped certain death when they managed to bail off their rental quad bike just as it began to tumble down a 66-foot cliff on the picturesque Greek island of Santorini.

The two Brits, who were not named, were exploring the island on a rental quad bike near the village of Akrotiri when they lost control of the vehicle and rolled down a 20-metre (66-ft) cliff yesterday (29th September).

The news site Cyclades24 reports that the two young Brits were on holiday in Santorini and decided to rent a quad bike.

Whilst the two were exploring the island, which attracts over half a million visitors per year, they lost control of the vehicle for reasons that are unclear.

The quad ended up flying off the road towards a 65-foot cliff running alongside it.

Local media report that the pair jumped off the quad bike approximately 5 metres (16 feet) down the cliff, while the bike tumbled all the way to the bottom.

The Brits survived almost certain death by jumping to safety, otherwise they would have followed the bike down the rocky cliff.

The emergency services arrived at the scene shortly after the incident and found the pair seriously injured but alive.

They were transferred to an undisclosed hospital on the island.

No further updates have been released on the health status of the two Brits.

It is not clear if an investigation into how the crash occurred has been launched.