4 American tourists among six killed in Athens building blast

ATHENS: Four American tourists visiting Greece were among six people confirmed dead on Saturday after a blast brought down the small Athens residential building they had been staying in near the Acropolis, officials said. The explosion, which occurred at dawn on Friday in the popular Plaka district filled with tourist lodgings, was likely caused by a gas leak, according to the capital's mayor, Haris Doukas. The other two people killed were an elderly British man and his Greek wife who lived on the second storey of the three-storey building.
The American family of four had been renting an apartment on the first storey and were preparing to go to the airport hours later on Friday for their return to the United States when the blast occurred, according to the Kathimerini newspaper. The explosion brought down the residential building and damaged properties and vehicles along the street.
Greek authorities did not immediately give their identities, ages or where in the United States they came from. The neighbourhood is one of Athens's most popular tourist areas. The nearby Acropolis, one of Greece's best-known landmarks, welcomed 4.6 million visitors last year. — AFP