Athens building explosion leaves four injured after suspected backpack blast

An explosion at a building in central Athens on Wednesday caused injuries to two police officers and two members of the public, Greek police said.

All four people were taken away from the scene in ambulances, police said in a statement.

A police official who declined to be named stated that the explosion occurred when officers reached the building in the area of Kolonos and picked up a backpack thought to contain drugs.

Police had earlier received a call from the manager of the building notifying them of the suspected drugs at the building’s entrance. The manager was also injured in the blast, which police are not treating as a terrorist act, the police official added.

The explosion comes just weeks after another building near the Acropolis collapsed following an explosion, killing six people.

Emergency crews recovered six bodies following an explosion in the Plaka tourist district on 25 September, Greek broadcaster ERT said.

A British man and his Greek wife were among those killed in the explosion.

Four Americans who had been staying in a short-term rental on the first floor were also killed, local news outlets reported.

The two men and two women were identified as US citizens through personal documents and belongings, they said.

A police source revealed that the tourists, comprising two American couples, had been due to catch a 3pm flight from Athens airport on Friday but failed to appear.

The blast, which occurred on a Friday morning, destroyed the building in Plaka, situated near major historic landmarks including the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus.