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A powerful early-morning explosion brought down a residential building in Athens’ historic Plaka district on Friday, leaving rescue crews searching through a tangled mass of concrete, metal and shattered balconies for anyone who may be trapped.
The blast struck at around 7:35 a.m. on Lysikratous Street, close to Hadrian’s Gate and the Temple of Olympian Zeus, an area normally crowded with residents, café workers and tourists heading towards some of the Greek capital’s best-known landmarks.
Three people were injured. Two women were rescued from a neighboring building and taken to Georgios Gennimatas Hospital, while a passerby was slightly hurt by flying debris.
The force of the explosion damaged nearby homes, shops and parked cars, sending broken glass and pieces of the building across several streets. Witnesses described a blast powerful enough to shake the surrounding block.
The main concern now is whether anyone was inside the collapsed building.
According to Kathimerini, an elderly couple lived in a second-floor apartment and had not been located as of late Friday morning. The apartment reportedly had a natural gas connection.
The first floor was being used as a short-term rental and had been booked by three American tourists. They were expected to check out at 11 a.m., but authorities were working to establish whether they had already left before the explosion.
An 80-year-old man owned the ground-floor apartment but reportedly used it only occasionally and was not believed to have been inside.
Firefighters were using specialized equipment, including small cameras, to search gaps in the unstable rubble. Part of the damaged structure collapsed again while emergency teams and television crews were still at the scene, underlining how dangerous the rescue operation remained.
A natural gas leak is being examined as one possible cause after witnesses reported smelling gas shortly before the blast. However, authorities and the gas distribution company have not confirmed the cause, and investigators are keeping other possibilities open.
A small fire that followed the explosion was quickly brought under control. Firefighters, specialist rescuers from Greece’s EMAK disaster-response unit, police, and municipal crews were deployed to the area, which remained sealed off as the search continued.
For many Cypriots, Plaka is one of the most familiar parts of Athens, a regular stop for holidays, shopping trips, and short stays, often in apartments booked through online rental platforms.
That makes the uncertainty surrounding the three tourists particularly unsettling. They may simply have left before the blast, but until authorities establish where they are, rescuers must work on the possibility that people remain beneath the ruins.
The investigation is continuing, and the number of missing people has not yet been officially confirmed.
*With information from Kathimerini, Reuters
