Four American tourists were among six people killed after an explosion destroyed a residential building in Athens, Greece, on Friday.
The blast occurred at dawn in the popular Plaka district, a tourist area near the Acropolis, bringing down the three-storey building and damaging nearby properties and vehicles.
Athens Mayor Haris Doukas said the explosion was likely caused by a gas leak, although authorities had not announced a final cause.
The two other victims were an elderly British man and his Greek wife, who lived on the second floor of the building, Greece’s state broadcaster ERT reported.
According to Greek newspaper Kathimerini, the American family had rented an apartment on the first floor and were preparing to leave for the airport for their return trip to the United States when the explosion occurred.
The New York Times reported that the American group consisted of a couple, their son and his girlfriend.
Greek authorities had not immediately released the victims’ names, ages or the location of their homes in the United States.
Rescue and emergency teams were still working at the scene on Saturday, with mechanical diggers clearing debris and thermal-imaging cameras being used in the search.
“We are talking about an incredible disaster,” Doukas said.
The mayor said two neighbouring buildings had also been left in a potentially dangerous condition and were being inspected to determine whether they could remain standing or would have to be demolished.
Mathaios Artavanis, who owns the ground-floor apartment, told Kathimerini that he was not at the property when the explosion occurred. He said he later tried unsuccessfully to contact the British-Greek couple who lived there.
Concerns about safety in the area had reportedly been raised before the incident.
A year earlier, residents in the Plaka neighbourhood warned city authorities and utility companies about possible gas leaks and electrical short circuits, according to a letter published by Kathimerini.
The residents’ association had also called for a fire drill to identify potential weaknesses in emergency response arrangements in the tourist district.
A citizens’ group further claimed on social media that a resident of the street where the blast occurred had alerted authorities after detecting what appeared to be a gas leak.
Plaka is one of Athens’ most popular tourist districts and is located close to the Acropolis, which attracted about 4.6 million visitors last year.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the explosion.
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