Tragedy in Athens/ Three Albanians reported missing after powerful explosion (NAMES)

Three Albanian citizens are believed to be missing beneath the rubble of a building that collapsed following a powerful explosion in the historic Plaka neighborhood, in the heart of Athens.

The serious incident shook the Greek capital on the morning of Friday, September 25, at around 7:30 a.m. on Lysikratous Street, where the explosion caused the structure to collapse immediately.

According to information obtained, those still being sought beneath the rubble include siblings Florida Hoxha and Flori Hoxha, as well as Florida’s husband, Eris Cani. Family members and authorities are anxiously following every development at the scene.

Meanwhile, search-and-rescue teams have so far recovered two bodies. In the early morning hours, they managed to recover the body of a woman, while later they also recovered the body of a 77-year-old British man, as officially confirmed by the spokesperson for the Fire Department.

The operation to locate the other people is continuing intensively and without interruption. Around 30 firefighters are at the scene, supported by six vehicles, including two specialized vehicles from the EMAK special unit and three dogs trained in search and rescue.

To detect any signs of life in the spaces remaining beneath the destroyed building, rescuers are using equipment to identify voices or movements, as well as special fiber-optic cameras for deep inspection of the rubble.

Greek police and fire authorities have launched investigations to determine the causes of the tragedy. Preliminary investigations point to a possible natural gas leak, which led to the devastating explosion.

The blast was so powerful that, in addition to causing the main building to collapse, it caused severe structural damage to neighboring buildings and destroyed dozens of vehicles parked near the area.