Woman dies after explosion collapses building in central Athens
A woman has died and five people are reported missing after an explosion brought down a building in Athens’ Plaka district, injuring three others.
Athens, Greece. A woman has died and five people are reported missing after an explosion collapsed a residential building in the central Plaka district, a Greek fire brigade official said on Saturday. Three people were injured in the blast.
Search continues at collapsed building
The explosion on Friday destroyed the two-storey building near the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus. It also damaged nearby houses, shops and cars.
Emergency crews, assisted by rescue dogs, were searching for an elderly couple who lived in one apartment and four tourists who were staying in another. Rescuers found the body of a young woman early on Saturday while clearing rubble from the building, which was left with twisted metal, broken balconies and hanging concrete slabs, the fire brigade official said.
A police official said the tourists, whose nationalities had not been confirmed, were due to check out to catch a flight from Athens airport at 3 p.m. on Friday but did not appear.
Cause remains unclear
The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. The area has many hotels and short-term rentals. Athens mayor Haris Doukas said on Friday that the explosion was likely linked to gas infrastructure. “Something went terribly wrong,” he said.
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