Six bodies recovered after blast collapses Athens building

A two-storey residential building collapsed after an explosion in central Athens on Friday morning. By Saturday, the Athens fire brigade had found at least two people dead, Nieuws.nl reported in an ANP/AFP dispatch. [1]

A young American woman was found in the rubble on Saturday. The identity of the other person reported dead had not been confirmed. Greek broadcaster ERT reported that four bodies had been found, a higher figure than the count attributed to the fire brigade. [1]

Six people had been reported missing, and a search was under way for an older couple who lived in one of the flats. The cause of the explosion was unknown; local authorities raised the possibility of a gas blast. [1]

Update

Six people have died after an explosion brought down a building in central Athens, with a British national among the dead, BBC News reports. Greek public broadcaster ERT also reported six deaths, citing fire service spokesperson Vasilis Vathrakogiannis, who said six people had been recovered from the rubble. [2] [3]

The blast happened shortly after 07:30 local time on Friday on Lysikratous Street in the Plaka district, near the Acropolis. The building housed a holiday rental property. Three people were injured, and nearby homes, shops and cars were damaged. [7] [2] [4]

The cause remains under investigation. Athens mayor Haris Doukas said the explosion was likely linked to gas infrastructure. A fire service spokesperson said the service had received no report of a gas smell before the blast. [4]