4 American tourists dead after building explosion and collapse in Athens

Four Americans were among the six people who died after an explosion and building collapse in Athens’ tourist district of Plaka near the Acropolis on Friday, officials said.

The blast, which occurred at dawn on Friday, was likely caused by a gas leak, according to Athens Mayor Haris Doukas.

The two other people killed were an elderly British man and his Greek wife who lived on the second floor of the three-story building, Greece’s state broadcaster ERT reported.

The American family of four had been renting an apartment on the first floor and were preparing to go to the airport hours later Friday for their return to the United States when the blast occurred, according to the Kathimerini newspaper.

The explosion brought down the residential building and damaged properties and vehicles along the street. Two other women were injured from an adjacent building on Lysikratous Street, fire brigades said, according to the Associated Press.

The New York Times reported that the U.S. family was composed of a couple, their son and his girlfriend. Greek authorities did not immediately give their identities, ages or where in the U.S. they came from.

On Saturday, AFP reporters saw mechanical diggers moving debris at the site and thermal-imaging cameras deployed.

“We are talking about an incredible disaster,” Doukas said.

Two nearby buildings were left in a dangerous state, he added, with inspections underway “to determine if they can remain standing or if they also have to be demolished.”

The owner of the ground-floor apartment, Mathaios Artavanis, told the Kathimerini daily he was absent at the time of the blast. He said he had tried afterward to contact the U.K.-Greek couple who lived there, without success.

Video footage from the scene showed rubble strewn across the street, with parked cars smashed by falling debris. The people rescued by the fire department from the adjacent building were all tourists, resident Andreas Martzaklis said.

The pastor of a nearby church said this Sunday’s service would be held outdoors because of damage to the church.

A year ago, locals in the Plaka neighborhood had warned the city and utility companies about the risk of gas leaks or short circuits, according to a letter by the residents’ association published by Kathimerini.

The residents had urged a fire drill to identify possible weaknesses in the emergency response plans for the district.

A citizens’ group said on social media that one resident in the street where the explosion happened had alerted authorities after smelling a possible gas leak.

The neighborhood is one of Athens’ most popular tourist areas. The nearby Acropolis, one of Greece’s best-known landmarks, welcomed 4.6 million visitors last year.