The Greek emergency services have located the lifeless bodies of four people among the rubble of a building that collapsed on Friday after a powerful explosion in the central neighborhood of Plaka, in the heart of old Athens.
According to the authorities, two of the bodies were found this Saturday around 1:00 PM (local time), while another had been rescued around 11:00 AM. The first to be recovered was the body of a woman, located during the night by the teams that continue to work in the affected area.
For now, the identity of the deceased has not been officially confirmed, although the initial hypotheses suggest that they could be American tourists who had rented an apartment to spend a few days in the Greek capital.
The firefighters are maintaining an active operation to completely remove the remains of the building and try to locate several people who are still missing and who could be trapped under the rubble, according to information released by the newspaper "Kathimerini."
The authorities have indicated that the total number of missing persons has risen to six since the explosion was recorded. Among them is an elderly couple — a British man and a Greek woman, aged 78 and 77 — who lived on the second floor of the collapsed building.
The main line of investigation is that the origin of the explosion may have been a gas leak. On Friday, several neighbors and people passing through the area reported that a strong smell was noticeable before the detonation occurred.