Woman Confirmed Dead, Five Still Missing After Athens Building Blast

A woman was found dead early Saturday in the wreckage of a collapsed Athens building, as rescue crews pressed on through the night searching for five others still missing after a powerful explosion leveled the structure in the historic Plaka district.

Rescuers pulled the woman

She was pronounced dead soon after arriving at Elpis Hospital.

The blast struck the two-story building on Lysikratous Street, steps from the Acropolis, at around 7:35 a.m. Friday.

A fire followed, gutting what remained of the structure.

Fire officials believe a gas leak in the second-floor supply line caused the explosion. A full investigation has been delayed until the search for survivors ends.

Search teams are still hunting for five people. Three are Americans who had booked the ground-floor apartment as a short-term rental — part of a group of four guests, two couples in their 30s and 40s, that included the woman now confirmed dead.

The booking was made under the name of a 37-year-old man, Mr. Ian.

Rescuers found a woman's handbag at the scene containing travel documents for a 40-year-old man, Mr. Florin, along with a copy of the apartment's lease.

All four had booked return flights to the United States that they never boarded.

The other two missing are an elderly couple who lived on the second floor: a 77-year-old British man and a 78-year-old woman born in Athens.

Neighbors said they saw the couple on their balcony Friday morning. Police have since been unable to reach either by phone.

Roughly 30 firefighters and six vehicles remain on scene, including two specialized units from Greece's disaster-response team, EMAK, and three search dogs trained to detect signs of life beneath the rubble.

The ground at the site is unstable. Crews are lifting slabs of debris one at a time to avoid triggering a further collapse.

Earlier Friday, firefighters rescued two women from a neighboring building on the same street. Both were taken to the hospital by ambulance.

Athens Municipality has sent heavy machinery to help crews clear the site. Officials say the search will continue for as long as it takes.

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A woman was found dead early Saturday in the wreckage of a collapsed Athens building, as rescue crews pressed on through the night searching for five others still missing after a powerful explosion leveled the structure in the historic Plaka district.

Rescuers pulled the woman from the building's first floor just after 2 a.m. Saturday. She was unconscious when recovered.

She was pronounced dead soon after arriving at Elpis Hospital.

The blast struck the two-story building on Lysikratous Street, steps from the Acropolis, at around 7:35 a.m. Friday.

A fire followed, gutting what remained of the structure.

Fire officials believe a gas leak in the second-floor supply line caused the explosion. A full investigation has been delayed until the search for survivors ends.

Search teams are still hunting for five people. Three are Americans who had booked the ground-floor apartment as a short-term rental — part of a group of four guests, two couples in their 30s and 40s, that included the woman now confirmed dead.

The booking was made under the name of a 37-year-old man, Mr. Ian.

Rescuers found a woman's handbag at the scene containing travel documents for a 40-year-old man, Mr. Florin, along with a copy of the apartment's lease.

All four had booked return flights to the United States that they never boarded.

The other two missing are an elderly couple who lived on the second floor: a 77-year-old British man and a 78-year-old woman born in Athens.

Neighbors said they saw the couple on their balcony Friday morning. Police have since been unable to reach either by phone.

Roughly 30 firefighters and six vehicles remain on scene, including two specialized units from Greece's disaster-response team, EMAK, and three search dogs trained to detect signs of life beneath the rubble.

The ground at the site is unstable. Crews are lifting slabs of debris one at a time to avoid triggering a further collapse.

Earlier Friday, firefighters rescued two women from a neighboring building on the same street. Both were taken to the hospital by ambulance.

Athens Municipality has sent heavy machinery to help crews clear the site. Officials say the search will continue for as long as it takes.

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