Six people have been confirmed dead after a residential building collapsed in central Athens following an explosion on Friday morning.
The blast occurred shortly after 7:30 a.m. in the historic Plaka district, near the Acropolis. The building housed four American tourists on the first floor and an elderly couple — a 78-year-old British man and a 77-year-old Greek woman — on the second floor. Formal identification of the victims is underway.
Approximately 30 firefighters with six vehicles and three specialized search dogs conducted an extensive operation through the rubble. Rescue teams employed geophones to detect sounds beneath the debris and endoscopic cameras to locate potential survivors.
The explosion also damaged neighboring properties and vehicles. Two women were rescued from an adjacent building and hospitalized, while a third person sustained minor injuries from flying debris.
Fire services, police, and medical personnel remain at the scene. The Arson Crimes Division has joined the investigation to determine the cause of the blast.
