Overview
- A building explosion in Plaka killed six people after a natural gas leak ignited, reducing part of the property to rubble and killing residents and tourists.
- Police have arrested three men—two Greek nationals and one Albanian national—who investigators say entered the building before the blast and who have prior criminal records.
- Laboratory tests by the National Technical University of Athens found tensile-force fractures on a section of pipe, a pattern that indicates the pipe was pulled forcefully rather than failing on its own.
- Investigators used dozens of surveillance cameras and the recovered gas meter to place the suspects in the building about five and a half hours before the explosion and say leaked gas rose through a poorly ventilated stairwell and collected on the upper floor before ignition.
- The suspects are expected to be brought before judicial authorities as the probe continues, and the case highlights safety risks from copper-theft damage to gas installations in dense, historic areas with short-term rentals.