Image: from john l X @Maeestro
Three people were injured after a powerful explosion caused a residential building to collapse in the historic Plaka neighbourhood, near the Acropolis. Emergency services are searching for five missing people, including an elderly couple.
By Open Chronicle with agencies | September 25, 2026
Five people are missing after a powerful explosion caused a residential building to collapse in central Athens on Friday morning, injuring three people and damaging nearby homes, shops and vehicles in one of the Greek capital’s most popular tourist districts.
BREAKING: Huge explosion rocks Athens as building collapses in historic Plaka
A powerful explosion shook central Athens early Friday morning, causing a two storey building on Lysikratous Street in Plaka to collapse.
The blast happened at around 7:35am, sending debris across the… pic.twitter.com/pGrOSwqECA
— Greek City Times (@greekcitytimes) September 25, 2026
The blast occurred in a two-storey building in Plaka, a historic neighbourhood close to some of Athens’ most visited landmarks, including the Acropolis and the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear.
Emergency crews, firefighters and ambulances rushed to the scene as thick smoke rose above the surrounding buildings and ancient monuments.
The force of the blast reduced the residential building to a mass of twisted metal, shattered balconies and hanging concrete slabs. Rocks, broken glass and other debris were thrown across nearby streets, with damage reported as far as three blocks away.
Emergency services search for five missing people
Greek firefighters launched a search and rescue operation for five people believed to be missing following the collapse.
An official told Reuters that those unaccounted for included an elderly couple who lived in the building.
Authorities were working to establish whether the missing residents had been inside the property when the explosion occurred or had managed to escape before emergency services arrived.
A police official said part of the building had been rented to tourists, raising concerns that visitors could also have been affected.
The explosion injured three people, including a passerby who was struck during the incident.
Two women trapped inside an adjacent building were rescued by emergency personnel and taken to hospital for treatment.
Authorities had not immediately provided further information about the severity of their injuries.
Powerful blast damages historic neighbourhood
Plaka is one of Athens’ most recognisable neighbourhoods, known for its narrow streets, traditional architecture, cafés, souvenir shops and proximity to the Acropolis.
The district attracts large numbers of international visitors throughout the year and contains numerous hotels and short-term rental apartments.
Friday’s explosion caused extensive damage to the surrounding area, with parked vehicles struck by falling debris and nearby buildings suffering broken windows and structural damage.
Video footage from the scene showed rubble covering the streets, damaged cars and emergency personnel working among the remains of the collapsed building.
Local resident Andreas Martzaklis described the force of the explosion, saying it felt as though the entire building and surrounding block had been blown apart.
Martzaklis, who lives in a nearby property, said he heard the blast while drinking his morning coffee.
He confirmed that an elderly couple lived on the second floor of the destroyed building but said he did not know whether they had been at home when the explosion occurred.
According to the resident, one apartment in the building had been operating as a short-term tourist rental, while the remaining apartments were privately owned.
He said residents had received little information about who had escaped from the building or whether those missing remained trapped beneath the debris.
Cause of explosion remains unknown
Greek authorities have not yet established what caused the explosion.
Emergency services continued their search for the missing people while assessing the stability of the remaining structures and the potential risks to surrounding buildings.
The incident has raised concerns about safety in one of the capital’s busiest tourist districts, where residential properties, hotels and commercial establishments are concentrated along narrow streets.
The extent of the structural damage and the number of people who may have been inside the affected building at the time of the explosion remain under investigation.
Authorities have not announced whether the blast was caused by a gas leak, an electrical fault or another factor.
Further information is expected as rescue operations and investigations continue.
Separate ferry fire near Mykonos prompts evacuation of 29 people
Elsewhere in Greece, authorities safely evacuated all 29 people aboard a vehicle ferry after a fire broke out on its deck near the popular tourist island of Mykonos on Friday.
The Greek coast guard said the vessel was carrying 28 crew members and one passenger when the fire was reported.
At least five coast guard vessels and two firefighting speedboats were deployed to assist with the emergency response.
All those aboard were evacuated safely, with no injuries reported.
An official from the ferry operator, Blue Star Ferries, confirmed that nobody had been hurt and said the crew was working to extinguish the fire.
Images circulated by local media appeared to show a column of smoke rising from a vessel at sea, although the footage had not been independently verified.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
The two incidents prompted separate emergency responses in Greece on Friday, with rescue teams continuing their search for the missing people in Athens while maritime authorities worked to secure the affected ferry near Mykonos.