Four Americans were among six people who died Friday after an explosion and building collapse in Athens’ tourist district of Plaka, near the Acropolis, officials said.
The explosion, which occurred at dawn on Friday, was probably caused by a gas leak, according to Athens Mayor Haris Doukas.
The other two people killed were an elderly British man and his Greek wife who lived on the second floor of the three-story building, Greek public broadcaster ERT reported.
Costas Baltas/Anadolu via Getty Images 
The American family of four was renting a first-floor apartment and was preparing to go to the airport a few hours later Friday to return to the United States when the explosion occurred, according to the Kathimerini newspaper.
The explosion destroyed the residential building and damaged properties and vehicles along the street. Two other women were injured in an adjacent building on Lysikratous Street, firefighters said, according to the Associated Press.
The New York Times reported that the American family consisted of a couple, their son and his girlfriend. Greek authorities did not immediately provide their identity, age or where they are from the United States.
Costas Baltas/Anadolu via Getty Images 
On Saturday, AFP journalists saw mechanical excavators moving debris at the site and thermal cameras deployed.
“We are talking about an incredible disaster,” Doukas said.
Two neighboring buildings have been left in an unsafe condition, he added, and inspections are underway “to determine whether they can remain standing or whether they also need to be demolished.”
The owner of the ground floor apartment, Mathaios Artavanis, told the Kathimerini daily that he was away at the time of the explosion. He said he later tried to contact the Anglo-Greek couple who lived there, without success.
Video footage from the scene showed rubble strewn across the street, with parked cars crushed by falling debris. The people rescued by firefighters from the neighboring building were all tourists, resident Andreas Martzaklis said.
The pastor of a nearby church said Sunday’s service would be held outside due to damage to the church.
A year ago, residents of the Plaka neighborhood alerted the city and public services to the risk of a gas leak or short circuit, according to a letter from the residents’ association published by Kathimerini.
Residents had requested a fire drill to identify possible weaknesses in the district’s emergency response plans.
A group of citizens said on social media that a resident on the street where the explosion occurred alerted authorities after smelling a possible gas leak.
The neighborhood is one of the most popular tourist areas in Athens. The nearby Acropolis, one of Greece’s best-known monuments, welcomed 4.6 million visitors last year.
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