A newly surfaced video has captured the first moments after the powerful fire that ripped through an auto parts factory in Aspropyrgos, an industrial area west of Athens, injuring 11 people, three of whom are being treated on ventilators in intensive care.

Aired this morning on Greek broadcaster Mega TV, the footage shows a company employee emerging from the burning workshop shortly after a powerful explosion, believed to have originated from a propane tanker parked at the site.

Asked by the person filming how the fire had started, the worker can be heard replying: “Probably from that tanker over there. It was leaking oil. I lit a cigarette and it caught fire.“

Two arrests over the fire

Officers from Greece’s Arson Crimes Division have arrested two Greek nationals in connection with the blaze: the factory’s owner and the driver of the tanker truck in which the explosion is believed to have occurred. Both were detained under Greece’s in flagrante delicto procedure, which allows for immediate arrest when a suspected offence is discovered in progress or shortly after.

Authorities are now focusing their investigation on the type of work being carried out at the site at the time of the fire.

As previously reported, the flames spread rapidly to neighbouring premises, causing extensive damage and completely destroying both the workshop where the fire began and two adjacent businesses.