A tragic end has come to the case of the building collapse in Plaka, as rescue crews located the two final bodies that had been missing under the rubble. The total number of people killed in the tragedy now stands at six.

At around 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 26, firefighters located the two final bodies, completing a difficult search and rescue operation that began following the powerful explosion that caused the building to collapse on Friday morning.

The first body, which belonged to a woman, was recovered at around 2:00 a.m. on Saturday. In the morning, the body of a man was found, while at around 1:00 p.m., two more bodies were located. One hour later, EMAS teams found the two final bodies, thus completing the tragic picture.

According to the authorities’ initial findings, the explosion that caused the building to collapse was most likely due to a natural gas leak, while the exact causes of the tragedy remain under investigation.

Throughout the search operation, 30 firefighters with six vehicles were deployed at the scene, including two specialised rescue vehicles from the 1st EMAS, as well as three search and rescue dogs. Rescuers used special acoustic detection geophones and cameras to locate any people who might have been trapped under the rubble.

The Municipality of Athens assisted the Fire Service by providing heavy machinery to remove debris, while police forces, EKAV ambulances and a team from the Directorate for the Investigation of Arson Crimes remained at the scene to investigate the circumstances under which the explosion occurred.

It is recalled that the explosion occurred shortly after 7:30 a.m. on Friday, September 25, causing the building to collapse and extensive damage to neighbouring properties and parked vehicles.