A woman has died and five people remain missing after an explosion caused a residential building to collapse in the Plaka neighbourhood of central Athens.
The blast on Friday destroyed the two-storey building, injured three people and damaged nearby homes, shops and cars, a Greek fire brigade official said on Saturday.
Rescue crews, assisted by search dogs, found the body of a young woman early on Saturday as they cleared rubble, twisted metal and broken balconies.
Teams had been searching for six people: an elderly couple who lived in one apartment and four tourists staying in another. The official did not identify the woman whose body was recovered.
The tourists, whose nationalities have not been confirmed, had been expected to check out to catch a flight from Athens airport at 1500 on Friday but failed to do so, a police official said.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. Athens Mayor Haris Doukas said on Friday that it was likely linked to gas infrastructure.
“Something went terribly wrong,” he said.
Plaka is home to numerous hotels and short-term rentals and lies near some of Athens’ most visited landmarks, including the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus.
