Two Killed and Four Missing in Building Collapse After Athens Explosion
Two people died and four are missing after a building collapsed following an explosion in central Athens. Rescue operations continue as authorities investigate the blast's cause.
Two people were killed and four others are missing following the collapse of a two-story residential building in the Plaka district of central Athens, triggered by an explosion. Three people sustained injuries in the blast.
Rescue teams, aided by rescue dogs, have been working at the scene since the building collapsed on Friday. During the clearance of the rubble, the bodies of a man and a young woman were discovered. Initially, rescue forces searched for an elderly couple living in one apartment and four tourists staying in another. The identities of the deceased have not yet been released.
According to a police source, the four tourists are two American couples. They were scheduled to vacate the apartment on Friday to catch a 3:00 PM flight from the Athens airport, but failed to arrive.
The explosion devastated the building, located in a tourist area near the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus. Nearby homes, shops, and vehicles were damaged, with debris and glass fragments scattered up to three streets away.
"The rescue operation is not simple, as most of the building collapsed and there is also a risk to neighboring structures," police spokeswoman Konstantina Dimoglidou told the public broadcaster ERT. She noted that neighboring buildings were evacuated for safety reasons.
The cause of the explosion remains unclear. Athens Mayor Haris Doukas stated on Friday that it may be linked to the local gas infrastructure.
