Work began Thursday to remove the debris from a four-story apartment building that collapsed in Athens’ Petralona neighborhood on June 30, leaving residents homeless and raising questions about construction work on an adjacent lot. Fortunately no one was injured in the collapse.
Specialist crews entered the site on Alkminis Street nearly 100 days after the collapse, with delays attributed to bureaucratic procedures. The debris removal contract is valued at €835,000, according to the municipal sanitation department’s recommendation.
A report establishing the cause of the collapse is expected to be issued after the rubble has been removed.
Collapse of a four-story apartment building in Petralona, at 22 Alkminis Street, Athens, June 30, 2026.
Residents Lost their Homes
The building at 22 Alkminis Street housed seven apartments. Its collapse prompted a search and rescue operation, with firefighters and Greece’s special disaster response unit, EMAK, searching the debris. Three construction workers and a woman initially reported missing were subsequently accounted for.
In the immediate aftermath, Athens Mayor Haris Doukas said the city would provide emergency financial assistance to affected families and temporary accommodation. Municipal police, outreach workers and sanitation crews were deployed to support the response.
Collapse of a four-story apartment building in Petralona, at 22 Alkminis Street, Athens, June 30, 2026. (SOOC)
Construction Next Door Under Scrutiny
The investigation has focused on excavation and construction work at the neighboring property, where a five-story residential building with a basement and attic was planned.
Police initially took five people in for questioning: the neighboring property’s owner, the contractor, the supervising engineer and two workers. All were subsequently released pending the outcome of a preliminary investigation ordered by a prosecutor to examine possible planning or building code violations.
Residents and tenants interviewed by Ta Nea after the collapse described seeing the apartment block leaning before it fell. Some also reported a visible crack.
Civil engineers who spoke to the outlet said investigators would need to examine both the required engineering studies and whether the work followed them.
The president of Greece’s Association of Civil Engineers suggested that excavation near the foundations could have destabilized the ground, causing settlement and triggering a chain of structural failures. He questioned whether adequate shoring and demolition precautions had been taken.
According to Ta Nea, the neighboring development had demolition and construction permits. A demolition report for the earlier two-story building stated that it was structurally independent of adjacent properties and that no additional shoring of neighboring buildings was required beyond standard regulatory safety measures.
Collapse of a four-story apartment building in Petralona, at 22 Alkminis Street, Athens, June 30, 2026.
