EXPLOSION KILLS TWO, LEAVES FOUR MISSING IN ATHENS

An explosion destroyed a building in the Plaka district of central Athens on Friday, close to the Acropolis and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. At least two people have died and four more are missing, a Greek fire brigade official said. Rescue teams found the body of a woman on Saturday morning, followed by the body of a man, the official said. Three people were injured and debris was scattered as far as three streets away, damaging nearby homes, shops and vehicles. Some neighbouring buildings were evacuated, according to local media reports.

The building housed a holiday rental, according to local media, with four tourists staying in one flat and an elderly couple living in another. Officials said the two who died were an American man and woman; two further American tourists remain missing, along with a Greek national and a UK national who lived in the building. The missing tourists were confirmed unaccounted for after they failed to arrive for a flight at Athens airport, according to local police cited by Reuters. Accounts of the building's size differ, with one report describing it as two storeys and another as three. A gas leak is suspected as the cause of the blast, officials said.

Athens Mayor Haris Doukas described the destruction as "an incredible disaster". Emergency crews, aided by rescue dogs, excavators and thermal imaging cameras, continued searching the wreckage on Saturday for the four people still missing. The building was reduced to a mix of twisted metal, shattered tiles and concrete slabs, a fire brigade official said. The UK Foreign Office has been contacted for information about the British national reported missing. No further details on the search had been released as of Saturday.