A British tourist in Hungary has been arrested on suspicion of killing his friend at a holiday apartment in Budapest and trying to drag the body through the hallway.

Police responded to a report that a British man had been stabbed in Erzsébetváros, the party district of the Hungarian capital, at 4:13 a.m. yesterday morning.

They tried to help the injured 28-year-old holidaymaker but were unable to save his life, they said in a statement.

A 34-year-old man - understood to have been a friend - was questioned and admitted to killing the victim before being arrested and taken into custody, police said.

The Budapest Police Headquarters' Life Protection Department has since launched an investigation on suspicion of murder.