A woman was pulled dead from the rubble in the early hours of the morning after a building in Plaka collapsed following an explosion yesterday morning on Lysikratous Street. According to information available so far, she was an American woman who was staying with her partner and another couple, also US nationals, in a short-term rental apartment on the first floor.

The Fire Service’s search and rescue operation is continuing unabated, as five people are still missing: the three American tourists on the first floor and the elderly couple who lived on the second floor.

Thirty firefighters with six vehicles are taking part in the operation, including two specialist rescue vehicles from the 1st EMAK, as well as three search and rescue dogs. Rescuers are using special acoustic listening devices in the rubble, as well as specialised cameras, to locate the missing people.

The Municipality of Athens is assisting the Fire Service’s work with heavy machinery to remove debris. The explosion occurred shortly after 07:30 yesterday, Friday 25 September, causing extensive damage to adjacent buildings and parked vehicles.

Yesterday, firefighters freed two women from an adjacent building, who were taken by EKAV ambulance to the “Georgios Gennimatas” hospital, while another person sustained minor injuries from debris.

A team from the Directorate for the Investigation of Arson Crimes remains at the scene to investigate the causes of the disaster, along with ELAS forces and EKAV ambulances.

Demoglidou: Firefighters are operating in extremely difficult conditions

Speaking to ERTnews, ELAS spokesperson Konstantia Demoglidou said that strong Fire Service forces had been operating at the scene from the very beginning, while the Police had cordoned off the area and was assisting with the search. “It is not an easy process, as essentially most of the building has collapsed and there is also a risk to the remaining buildings nearby, which have been evacuated for safety reasons,” she stressed.

Firefighters are operating in extremely difficult conditions, as a large section of the building has collapsed. “At the same time, debris is being removed and the firefighters then proceed with the search,” she noted, stressing that the process is time-consuming and dangerous.

Regarding the initial indications as to the cause of the explosion, the official confirmed that reports had been received from members of the public: “The first reports received by the police officers were that there was some kind of gas smell, although of course this has not been identified.” The preliminary investigation is being conducted by the Fire Service, with priority given to locating the missing people. “The priority is to find people and then the way in which the explosion occurred will be investigated.”

“Critical hours because we have reached the bedrooms”

Speaking to the Orange Press Agency (OPA), Paris Charlaftis, Deputy Mayor for Technical Services, Municipal Property and Digital Governance of the Municipality of Athens, said: “At this moment, the Fire Service is operating together with hired heavy machinery from the Municipality of Athens. Half of the apartment building has been dismantled and we have filled in parts of the basement with rubble so that the machinery can also operate at the back of the plot. The hours are critical at this moment because we are dismantling the bedrooms, so we are waiting. We hope that the only victim will be the one who has been found.”

Asked whether the rain was causing problems and delaying the search, Mr Charlaftis said that despite the obstacles, the rescuers were not stopping their efforts for a moment:

“It certainly hinders the rescue crews because it creates mud, but I think it is better because the dust settles. The searches are progressing slowly anyway, because it has to be established whether there is even the slightest possibility that someone may be alive.”

Five people still missing

According to information available so far, the authorities are still searching for five people who are believed to have been staying in the building on Lysikratous Street.

They are:

• an elderly couple who lived on the second floor,
• three American tourists who had rented an apartment on the first floor.

The Fire Service is continuing the operation, while searches of the rubble remain underway to locate the remaining missing people.

The building on Lysikratous Street also had a ground floor, although its owner was not inside. As the owner of the ground floor said, he learned about the explosion and the collapse of the building from the news.

Additional ELAS forces remain at the scene, along with two EKAV ambulances, while two more ambulances are on standby.

More specifically, according to information available so far, the occupants of the first floor are believed to have been four Americans, two couples aged between 30 and 40, who had come to Greece on holiday. They had booked the apartment through a short-term rental platform under the name Ian, aged 37. A search of the site located a woman’s bag containing a rental agreement, which is believed to belong to one of the female tourists, as well as the US passports of Ian and Florida. A bag was also found containing the apartment’s rental agreement – a fact that strengthens the possibility that the four people were inside the property at the time of the explosion.

The same sources said that the tourists had booked a Delta flight for today at 15:30 to return to the US, but they did not show up.

An elderly couple are believed to have lived on the second floor. According to information, they are a 78-year-old woman born in Athens and a 77-year-old British man.

Police officers called them by telephone, but received no answer.

As for the cause of the explosion, the investigation is ongoing, with initial estimates pointing to a possible gas leak.