Tourists among at least five missing as huge explosion destroys building in historic Athens district

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 07:48 EDT, 25 September 2026 | Updated: 07:50 EDT, 25 September 2026 Tourists are among the at least five people missing after a massive explosion tore through a building in a historic district of Athens. The explosion happened at around 7.30am today in the district of Plaka, which sits just round the corner from the Acropolis of Athens and the Temple of Zeus. Officials have said that five people are missing. Some local media has reported that three Americans are among those who have not been located, but this has not yet been confirmed. Several people were injured by the blast, with local media reporting that two women from an adjacent building were taken to Georgios Gennimatas Hospital, while a passerby said they suffered shrapnel wounds from the explosion. The fire service said they were looking for two elderly people who lived on the building's top floor, and three tourists who are believed to have rented the apartment below.'A search and rescue operation with a dog is underway to find anyone who may be trapped,' a fire department spokesperson told AFP.'We have learned that an elderly couple and three other people staying in a holiday rental were living in the building, and we are trying to determine whether they were there at the time of the explosion,' she added.The explosion, attributed at this stage to a gas leak, destroyed the two-floor building and also damaged neighbouring homes. Firefighters operate following a blast that caused a building to collapse and injured two people in Athens, Greece on September 25, 2026It broke windows in surrounding buildings and damaged cars parked nearby.After several hours on Friday, no sign of the missing persons had been found in the debris.Two women in a neighbouring building were hospitalised with minor injuries, state TV ERT said.A third person who was passing by was also lightly injured, the station said.