The property, an old, abandoned building currently undergoing renovation, was assessed as posing a serious risk of further structural failure. The section of the street directly in front of it was closed to pedestrians and vehicles as a precaution, with additional safety measures expected to follow.

No debris had fallen onto the roadway and no sections of the building had been confirmed to have detached, according to initial reports. There were no confirmed injuries, while the cause of the suspected structural failure remained unclear.

Civil engineers from the municipality of Athens warned that the entire building could potentially give way. Police officers were deployed to the scene, while a municipal inspection team was expected to conduct a formal assessment on Friday.

Recent collapses renew concerns over ageing buildings

The incident comes amid a series of building collapses and structural failures across Greece in recent months, raising concerns over neglected properties, inadequate maintenance and construction safety.

On Oct. 29, the roof and part of the walls of an abandoned single-storey house on Alamanas Street in the Akadimia Platonos neighborhood of Athens collapsed. Firefighters and specialist rescue teams searched the rubble for possible occupants, but no casualties were reported. Residents said the property had been neglected for years and that pieces had fallen from it during periods of rain. Some neighboring buildings were also reportedly abandoned for decades.

Earlier, on June 30, a four-storey apartment building on Alkminis Street in Petralona collapsed while excavation and construction work was underway on an adjacent property. All residents were eventually accounted for and no fatalities were reported. Five people connected with the neighboring construction project were initially detained. A preliminary prosecutorial investigation examined possible planning and building-code violations, while engineers raised questions about excavation safeguards and the adequacy of structural support measures.

The deadliest incident occurred in September, when an explosion destroyed a two-storey building on Lysikratous Street in Athens’ Plaka district, killing six people, including four US citizens. Investigators subsequently focused on a suspected natural gas leak, and three arrests of suspects on vandalism charges and unintentional manslaughter followed.