Five people are missing after an explosion caused a residential building to collapse in a touristic area of central Athens, injuring three people and damaging houses, shops and cars across a historic neighbourhood.
It was not immediately clear what caused the blast in the two-storey building in Plaka near some of Athens' most popular sites including the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus.
The building where the blast took place was reduced to a mess of twisted metal, broken balconies and hanging concrete slabs. The explosion also sent rocks and broken glass flying as far as three blocks away.
The fire brigade was searching for five people, including an elderly couple that lived in the building, an official told Reuters. Part of the building was rented out to tourists, a police official said.
The area is home to many hotels and short-term rentals. Crowds of tourists stroll its narrow streets lined with cafes and souvenir shops.
Fire crews and ambulances rushed to the scene early on Friday as smoke billowed above the ancient monuments.
"It was like the whole building, the whole block blew off. That's how strong it was," said local resident Andreas Martzaklis.
"An elderly couple lived upstairs, on the second floor," resident Martzaklis said, adding that he didn't know whether they had been inside at the time of the explosion or managed to get out.
He said one apartment in the building that collapsed had been operating as a short-term rental apartment, while the others were privately owned.
"Who got out of the building that is destroyed, we don't know anything," said Martzakis, who lives in a nearby building and heard the blast while he was drinking his morning coffee.
Authorities said a passer-by was injured. Two women who had been trapped in an adjacent building were rescued and being treated in hospital.
Video footage from the scene showed rubble strewn across the street, with parked cars smashed by falling debris.
Elsewhere in Greece, authorities safely evacuated all 29 people after a fire broke out on the deck of a vehicle ferry off the popular tourist island of Mykonos on Friday, the Greek coast guard said.
At least five coast guard vessels and two firefighting speedboats assisted the operation to rescue the 28 crew and one passenger aboard, the coastguard added.
An official from the ferry owner, Blue Star Ferries, confirmed that no one was hurt and that the crew was working to put out the fire.
Unverified images on local media showed a column of smoke rising from a boat out at sea.
