The victims are four American tourists who were staying in a vacation rental on the first floor of the building, and an elderly couple, made up of a British man and a Greek woman, who lived on the second floor, according to public broadcaster ERT.
The small two-story building collapsed on Friday morning around 7:30 a.m. (6:30 a.m. in Switzerland), after a powerful explosion which resounded in the Plaka district, one of the most touristy in the capital.
The mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, raised the possibility of an “explosion caused by (…) a very large leak” of gas, without the cause of the disaster having yet been formally established.
A specialized fire brigade unit, responsible for investigating the causes of the explosion, was still present on the scene on Saturday, according to the Greek news agency ANA.
Thirty firefighters participated on Friday and Saturday in the search which lasted long hours, with six vehicles, including two specialized in rescue operations, and three dogs, according to the ANA. The six bodies of the missing people have been found.
The Greek daily Kathimerini reported Friday that the four tourists, who were supposed to leave their rental around 11:00 a.m. (10:00 a.m. in Switzerland), did not show up for their return flight to the United States. Mathaios Artavanis, owner of the ground floor accommodation and absent at the time of the explosion, also told the newspaper that he had tried to contact the elderly couple, but without success.
“The damage extends to the entire street as well as to the street behind (the building),” explained Haris Doukas. “We are talking about an unimaginable catastrophe.”
Residents had alerted
On Friday morning, two women were also rescued from a nearby building and then hospitalized.
Another person was slightly injured by debris thrown during the explosion.
The two adjoining buildings were seriously damaged, according to the mayor.
“Inspections have begun to determine whether they can remain standing or whether they too must be demolished,” he said.
Vehicles parked nearby were also damaged.
A year before the explosion, a group of residents of Plaka had alerted the municipality as well as the managers of the electricity and gas networks about the risks of short circuits or gas leaks in the neighborhood.
In a letter published by Kathimerini, the collective demanded in particular the organization of a security exercise in order to identify possible failures in the emergency intervention system.
The citizen movement “We Stay Active” also claimed on social networks that a resident of the street where the explosion occurred had been reporting a smell of gas for several weeks and had warned the authorities.
Greek police spokeswoman Konstantia Dimoglidu confirmed to ERT that residents had reported the smell of gas before the explosion. However, the nature of the substance and its origin have not yet been determined.
The historic district of Plaka, with its narrow streets and neoclassical houses, extends at the foot of the Acropolis, a monument visited by 4.6 million people in 2025.
