Athens news from Plaka turned grim on Friday when an explosion and building collapse near the Acropolis killed six people, including four Americans. Athens Mayor Haris Doukas said the blast was likely caused by a gas leak.
Doukas said, "We are talking about an incredible disaster" after the blast. The American family of four had been renting an apartment on the first floor of a three-story building and was preparing to go to the airport hours later Friday for its return to the United States.
Plaka and Lysikratous Street
The dead also included an elderly British man and his Greek wife, who lived on the second floor of the building. The explosion brought down the residential building and damaged properties and vehicles along the street, while two other women were injured from an adjacent building on Lysikratous Street.
On Saturday, AFP reporters saw mechanical diggers moving debris at the site and thermal-imaging cameras deployed. Haris Doukas said two nearby buildings were left in a dangerous state, and inspections were underway to determine whether those buildings could remain standing or also had to be demolished.
Mathaios Artavanis on the blast
Mathaios Artavanis, the owner of the ground-floor apartment, said he was absent at the time of the blast. Andreas Martzaklis said the people rescued by the fire department from the adjacent building were all tourists, adding another layer to a collapse that hit both residents and visitors in one of Athens' most visited districts.
A year ago, locals in Plaka warned the city and utility companies about the risk of gas leaks or short circuits, and residents urged a fire drill to identify possible weaknesses in emergency response plans for the district. That warning now sits beside the blast itself, as investigators work through a scene that still has unstable buildings around it.
