3 injured after explosion causes building collapse in Athens’ tourist centre

An explosion caused a residential building to collapse in the crowded tourist centre of Athens on Friday, injuring three people and damaging houses, shops and cars ‌across a historic neighbourhood.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blast in the two-storey building in Plaka near some of Athens’ most popular sites including the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus, sending rocks and broken glass as far as ⁠three blocks away.

Police spokeswoman Constantina Dimoglidou said that the ‌fire brigade has not yet concluded its site inspection.

Fire crews and ambulances rushed to the scene as smoke billowed ‌above the ancient monuments. The building where the blast took ⁠place was ⁠reduced to a mess of twisted metal, broken balconies and hanging concrete slabs.