Four American tourists died with two local residents when a suspected gas-leak blast flattened a building near the Acropolis, and Greek officials still have not locked down a final cause.
Fox News reported that an explosion leveled a two-story residential building in Athens’ historic Plaka district, at the foot of the Acropolis, and that emergency crews recovered six bodies the next day.
The dead included four U.S. citizens, two men and two women believed to be two couples, plus an elderly couple who lived in one of the apartments. Two women in an adjacent building on Lysikratous Street were injured.
Greek authorities said the blast struck Friday. By Saturday, search teams had pulled six bodies from the collapsed structure as rubble and shattered glass stretched as far as three blocks.
A police source told Reuters the two American couples had been expected to catch a 3 p.m. Friday flight from Athens airport. They never showed up.
Greek state broadcaster ERT and other local media said documents and belongings recovered with the four victims indicated they were U.S. citizens. Fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said in a televised briefing that crews had been searching the debris for the elderly residents and the four tourists staying in another apartment.
Resident Andreas Martzaklis told the Associated Press that everyone rescued from the neighboring building was a tourist.
Athens Mayor Haris Doukas said the explosion was believed to have been caused by a major gas leak. Reports of a gas smell in the area circulated before the blast. Authorities said they were investigating.
No definitive cause has been announced. No arrests or charges were reported.
The fire department poured resources into the site: 30 firefighters, three dogs, cameras, and sensors worked the rubble as crews cleared debris and looked for anyone still trapped.
The blast destroyed the two-story building and damaged nearby homes, shops, and vehicles. A nearby church took damage as well. The pastor said Sunday services would move outdoors.
U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle mourned the American dead in a post on X.
"I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of four American citizens in yesterday’s explosion in central Athens,"
Names of the six dead and the two injured women were not released in the initial reporting. Exact blast time and a final engineering finding on the gas system also remained outstanding.
Plaka sits among Athens’ most visited streets, packed with travelers drawn to the Acropolis and the old neighborhood below it. The Americans who died there had tickets home the same day the building came down.
When U.S. citizens are killed overseas in a disaster officials only “believe” was a gas leak, families and the public are owed a clear cause, not a shrug and a press briefing.
