Athens, Sept 27. (dpa/GNA) – The six victims of a deadly explosion and building collapse in the historic Plaka district of Athens two days ago, have been identified as four US citizens, one Briton and one Greek, the Greek Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
The ministry expressed its condolences to the families and relatives of the victims on the social media platform X. The six had initially been reported missing after the explosion. Their bodies were later recovered from the rubble.
According to consistent reports from Greek media, the US victims were two married couples. One of the women was said to have been pregnant. The couples had been staying in a holiday flat on the first floor of the building. They had been due to fly back to the United States on the day of the accident, and had already checked in for their return flight, but never appeared at the airport, Greek media reported, citing police sources.
The other two victims, a Briton and a Greek woman, had been living on the second floor.
The three-storey building collapsed on Friday morning at around 7:30 am (0430 GMT), following a powerful explosion, which also triggered a fire.
A passer-by was slightly injured by debris, and two women from a neighbouring building were taken to hospital as a precaution.
The cause of the explosion remains unclear. Experts are examining a possible gas leak among other causes, according to media reports.
Residents had reportedly noticed the smell of gas before the explosion.
GNA