6 killed in Greece building collapse following explosion — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): Six people, including four US citizens, were killed after an explosion caused a two-storey residential building to collapse in central Athens, the capital of Greece, a media report said on Sunday. Reuters, quoting the Greek Fire Service, reported that the explosion occurred in Plaka, a tourist area in central Athens, on Friday, after which the residential building collapsed. Vasilis Vathrakogiannis, a spokesman for the Greek Fire Service, said rescue teams used sniffer dogs, cameras and sensors to recover the bodies of six people from beneath the rubble. According to officials, the victims included an elderly couple who lived in one of the building’s apartments and four US tourists staying in another apartment. US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle confirmed the deaths of the four US citizens and expressed her condolences in a post on X. Reuters reported that the exact cause of the explosion remained unclear. However, Athens Mayor Haris Doukas said the incident was likely linked to gas infrastructure. Reports of a gas smell in the area had emerged before the explosion.