Greek firefighters pulled six bodies from a collapsed house in Athens’ Plaka district on Saturday, including four American tourists who were supposed to fly home just hours later.
The blast hit 15 Lysikratous Street shortly after 7:30 a.m. Friday, a block from the Acropolis and the Temple of Olympian Zeus, according to an Associated Press report.
Rubble and glass were scattered across three blocks, and parked cars were crushed.
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ALERT: Family of 4 is among at least 6 missing after a massive explosion shook a historic district in Greece.
An explosion hit a building in the Plaka district, next to the Acropolis of Athens and the Temple of Zeus, and it collapsed.
Fire services rescued 2 women from an… pic.twitter.com/bsUChKKOzX
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Athens Mayor Haris Doukas called it “an incredible disaster” and said the explosion was likely tied to gas.
Fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said crews with dogs, cameras, and sensors recovered all six of the victims after more than 24 hours in the wreckage.
Police spokeswoman Constantina Dimoglidou told the New York Times the four tourists had been on the first floor of the two-story building and were due to check out Friday morning.
A police source told Reuters they were expected at Athens airport around 3 p.m. for a Delta flight and never arrived.
Rescuers found a woman’s bag with two U.S. passports and the rental contract.
Greek media named the Americans as two couples traveling together: Florida Hoxha and her husband, Ian Alexander Kirkpatrick, and Florin Hoxha and his wife, Erisa Cani.
Greek Reporter and To Vima said Florida and Florin were siblings of Albanian origin who had U.S. passports.
Florida and Kirkpatrick had recently married and were in Greece on a honeymoon.
The other two dead lived upstairs.
Greek reports identified them as a married couple, Athina Papareskou, 78, a Greek woman, and Edmond Hings, 77, a British man.
Neighbors told reporters they smelled gas before the bang.
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