Europe26 September, 20262 min read
Greek Rescue Teams Recover Six Dead After Gas Explosion Collapses Building Near Acropolis
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Six people killed as a two-story building collapsed after an explosion in Plaka. Four American tourists among the dead; other victims include a British national.
Athens blast kills six
An explosion destroyed a two-story building in the Plaka district of central Athens, near the Acropolis, and Greek rescue teams recovered the bodies of six people who had remained missing after the collapse. The Greek fire brigade reported that six people died after the building collapsed following an explosion that Athens Mayor said was likely linked to gas infrastructure.
Local fire officials told ABC News that six bodies were recovered Saturday after an explosion collapsed a two-story building in Athens, Greece, in the Plaka area. Four American holidaymakers were among the dead, along with a UK national and Greek national, reportedly an elderly couple who lived in the same building.
Gas leak suspected
Athens Mayor Haris Doukas told reporters that the blast was an "incredible disaster" and pointed to a possible natural gas leak as the cause of the explosion. A gas leak was the suspected cause of the blast, and all six bodies had been recovered by Saturday afternoon.
The building had a gas installation on the second floor of the building, and neighbors and passersby said they detected a strong smell of gas before the blast. A spokesperson for the Hellenic Fire Department told ABC News that the six missing persons' bodies were recovered, and it added that their identities weren't immediately revealed.
Tourists and investigations
The tourists, two American couples, had been expected to check in to catch a flight from Athens airport at 3 p.m. local time on Friday but did not show up, a police source said. Four US tourists had been staying on the first floor of the building while a couple, a 78-year-old British man and a 77-year-old Greek woman, lived on the second floor.
“We are aware of a suspected explosion in Athens and are in touch with the local authorities.”
The fire brigade's crime investigation unit was also on site to identify the cause of the blast after reports of a gas smell in an area home to hotels and short-term rentals. A UK Foreign Office spokesperson told: "We are aware of a suspected explosion in Athens and are in touch with the local authorities."