Μake us preferred on Google The theft of a copper pipe worth just a few euros was the first link in a chain of events that, hours later, would destroy a building at 15 Lysikratous Street in Plaka, one of Athens’ oldest and most historic neighborhoods.
On the night of September 24, as the streets lay deserted, the movements of three men attracted little attention. Security cameras, however, captured their every step.
Within a month, the Fire Department appears to have identified what caused the devastation. An analysis of security camera footage led to the identification and arrest of three men suspected of removing a copper pipe, causing a gas leak that ultimately resulted in a deadly explosion.
For 13 minutes, beginning at 1:40 a.m., the alleged copper thieves wandered through the neighborhood’s narrow streets. One of them, wearing a red shirt and a baseball cap, repeatedly attempted to break into buildings and hotels in the area. In one attempt, a camera captured him using a plastic card to force open an entrance.
At 1:59 a.m., the three men turned onto Lysikratous Street. They moved methodically, checking the handles of parked cars and the doors of houses, looking for the weakest point of entry. One minute later, at 2 a.m., the man in the red shirt managed to force open the main entrance of No. 15 in just 10 seconds.
At 2:01 a.m., a second man, wearing a dark sweatshirt, with gray facial hair and a white plastic glove on one hand, entered the building. The third remained alone on the street for three minutes, apparently acting as a lookout.
The two men spent just three minutes inside. At 2:03 a.m., they emerged carrying a wheeled cart, which they are also suspected of having stolen earlier, and a long, narrow object resembling a copper pipe or a tool.
Their escape route was then traced. Between 2:06 and 2:49 a.m., the three suspects left Plaka, crossed Syngrou Avenue and Kallirrois Street, and headed toward Neos Kosmos, a neighborhood in southern Athens.
At 3:10 a.m., they stopped at a small park on Fotomara Street, where they examined the items they had stolen. One of the men lit a cigarette. Eleven minutes later, at 3:21 a.m., they gathered their belongings and headed toward Koutsonika Street.
The Moment of the Deadly Explosion
Back on Lysikratous Street, the countdown was already underway.
At 7:31:46 a.m., a flash can be seen coming from the windows of the building’s second floor, fractions of a second before the fatal explosion. According to the footage, the flash may have been caused by a spark from the operation of a relay switch or another electrical contact.
The explosion completely destroyed the building, killing six people and bringing the suspects’ passage through Plaka to a tragic end.
The Theory Behind the Deadly Explosion
According to the authorities’ investigation, the natural gas meter was located on the ground floor, inside the stairwell. The stairwell had no openings to the outside up to the level of the second floor.
The first flash associated with the explosion was recorded on the second floor, while a second flash was observed on the ground floor almost simultaneously.
According to investigators, this sequence points to the initial ignition source being on the second floor, while the natural gas leak originated on the ground floor. Because natural gas is lighter than air, it rose to the upper floors, following the enclosed stairwell.
Two of the three suspects entered the building, made their way into the enclosed, windowless stairwell and attempted to remove pipes. In the process, they cut one of the natural gas supply pipes, causing a leak.
The gas spread through the building and accumulated on the second floor, where the elderly couple who died in the explosion lived. The explosion followed.
Experts’ analysis indicates that the approximately five-and-a-half-hour period between the alleged perpetrators’ entry into the building and the explosion was sufficient for a large quantity of gas to accumulate inside the enclosed stairwell and other areas of the building.
Three Suspects to Face Investigators Today
The three men arrested in connection with the Plaka explosion face three felony charges and one misdemeanor.
The indictment under which they are expected to give their statements includes charges of arson that endangered human life and intentionally caused the deaths of others, acting jointly; causing an explosion that endangered human life and intentionally resulted in deaths, acting jointly; multiple counts of homicide with possible intent, acting jointly; and multiple counts of dangerous bodily injury, acting jointly.
The suspects are two Greek nationals, aged 37 and 55, and a 34-year-old Albanian national. All three had reportedly been arrested dozens of times in the past in connection with various cases, yet continued their alleged criminal activity.
