Briton feared dead in house explosion near Acropolis
Briton feared dead in house explosion near Acropolis
Jorg LuykenSat, September 26, 2026 at 8:33 AM UTC
0
The site of the explosion was near tourist sites including the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus - Reuters/Stamos Prousalis
An elderly Briton is among six feared dead after a suspected gas leak blew up an apartment in the tourist heart of Athens.
A woman has died and five people are missing after the explosion on Friday morning, with Greek fire services searching through the rubble overnight.
The blast ripped through a building near some of the Greek capital’s most-visited sites, including the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus.
A British man, 78, and his Greek wife, 77, who live on the building’s second floor, are among the missing. Tourists staying in another apartment remain trapped under the rubble.
The tourists, two couples staying in a holiday rental on the first floor, were expected to check out to catch a flight from Athens airport at 3pm on Friday, but they did not show up, a police official said.
A young woman, believed to have been American, was found dead early on Saturday after emergency crews recovered her body from the rubble.
The building was reduced to a mess of twisted metal, broken balconies and hanging concrete slabs, police added.
Advertisement
Three others were injured after the explosion damaged houses, shops and cars.
A young woman’s body was recovered by emergency crews early on Saturday - REUTERS/Stelios Misinas
On Saturday morning, a city spokesman said search teams had removed enough rubble to access the bedrooms at the back ofthe building.
The blast on a small street shook the area, which is normally busy with hundreds of foreign visitors.
Haris Doukas, the city’s mayor, called the blast an “unbelievable disaster” and spoke of the likelihood of an “explosion triggered by... a very significant gas leak”.
Authorities said late on Friday that the search would go on through the night.
Searches continue for the five people still missing after the explosion - AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis
“Operations are continuing, all the machinery is here, the search will go on throughout the night,” said Mr Doukas, who went to the scene.
“These are difficult hours. We stop whenever necessary to keep silent, so we can see if we can hear any sound” made by possible survivors, he added.
A spokesman for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are aware of a suspected explosion in Athens and are in touch with the local authorities. We stand ready to offer assistance to British nationals abroad 24/7.”
Source: “AOL Breaking”
