A four-storey apartment building in Athens’ Petralona neighbourhoos collapsed on Tuesday afternoon, June 30, at 22 Alkmenis Street in Petralona, central Athens, prompting a major search-and-rescue operation.

The building consisted of seven apartments. Fire Service crews, the 1st EMAK special disaster response unit and two specially trained search-and-rescue dogs are operating at the scene, while nearby EMAK units have also been placed on heightened alert in case further assistance is required.

According to initial information, the collapse occurred while construction work was being carried out at a neighbouring site. During excavation work, the foundations of the collapsed building were allegedly undermined, though the exact cause has not yet been officially established.

Five people have been taken in for questioning: four workers and the owner of the neighbouring construction site.

There are also reports that one person may be trapped in the rubble. According to the same information, it is believed to be a woman. The Deputy Chief of the Fire Service, Lieutenant General Anastasios Pappas, is at the scene coordinating the operation.

A resident of a neighbouring building described the moment the apartment block came down, saying the structure “fell right in front of me, like a cardboard box.”

“Suddenly, I saw the entire apartment building fall right in front of me, like a cardboard box. Our building shook a little, so I ran downstairs in my slippers to see what had happened,” the witness told Protothema.gr.

According to his account, a construction crew with a yellow truck and a concrete-pouring mechanism was at the site shortly before the collapse. Nearby, he said, an elderly woman was standing in shock.

“There was an elderly woman there saying, ‘my house is gone.’ She was panicking. The whole area was white with dust; you couldn’t see anything at that moment,” he said.

The witness said the police and Fire Brigade were notified immediately, although there was initial uncertainty over whether anyone was trapped inside the building.

“The apartment building collapsed, and the truck’s attachment — the concrete pipe — was left hanging upside down over the building. Then they lifted it, put it back in place and left before the police arrived,” he claimed.

Asked whether he believed the works were linked to the collapse, the resident said it was his personal view that the building had given way “as a result of the crew’s actions.” He stressed, however, that the precise cause will be established by the official investigation.

Authorities are now examining the circumstances of the collapse, while rescue teams continue searching the rubble.