Rescue crews searching the wreckage of a building in Plaka recovered three more bodies on Saturday, bringing the confirmed death toll from Friday’s explosion and collapse to four. The identities of those recovered have not yet been confirmed.
The building was believed to have been occupied by four American tourists staying in a first-floor short-term rental apartment and an elderly British-Greek couple who lived on the second floor.
At about 2 a.m. Saturday, crews recovered the body of a woman who had been staying in the building. Two people remain unaccounted for.
The explosion, which tore through the building on Lysikratous Street on Friday morning, left much of the structure in ruins and damaged several neighboring properties in the heart of Athens’ historic center.
The search has continued under difficult conditions. Much of the building has collapsed, and officials have also raised concerns about the stability of nearby structures. Several surrounding buildings have been evacuated as a precaution.
At the same time, investigators are trying to determine what caused the blast. Konstantia Dimoglidou, a spokeswoman for the Greek police, told ERTnews that residents had reported smelling what they believed to be gas before the explosion. She said investigators had not yet determined the source of the odor or identified the substance involved.
The Fire Service is leading the investigation, but officials said the immediate focus remained on finding the people still missing.
Nearby Properties Hit by Explosiom
The force of the explosion was felt well beyond the building itself.
Residents described shattered windows, damaged walls and doors torn from their frames in neighboring properties. One woman who owns an office nearby said the damage extended from the basement to the upper floors of her building. In her second-floor property, she said, windows and frames had been blown out and cracks had appeared in the walls.
Another resident said she had been asleep when the blast woke her. “I was here, sleeping,” she said. “I woke up from the noise. The glass broke, and some other windows broke too. The apartment next to ours has been destroyed.”
Police have kept the surrounding streets closed while rescue teams continue working through the rubble.
