Building partially collapses after explosion in central Athens, one person reportedly injured

A powerful explosion, likely from a gas leak, caused a two‑storey building in central Athens’s Plaka district to partially collapse early on Sept 25, injuring one passerby and trapping two women later rescued by emergency services.

ATHENS, Sept 25 (Reuters) – A two-storey building partially collapsed in central Athens on Friday after an explosion, the Greek fire brigade said, with local media reporting one person, a passerby, was slightly injured.

A gas leak probably caused the explosion at the building in Plaka, a touristy area in the heart of Athens near the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus, local media reported, adding that it was powerful enough to be heard throughout the city centre.

Images from local media showed concrete slabs from the building hanging in the air, while several cars parked across a narrow street beneath were damaged by the rubble.