Greek authorities say they are trying to discover what caused a two-storey apartment block in the heart of ancient Athens to collapse “in a matter of seconds”, killing six people.
asserted
block → say → people
Emergency teams found the victims, including four American tourists, on Saturday, more than 24 hours after an explosion prompted the early morning tragedy in the historic Plaka district.
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explosion → find → district
The fire service said the bodies of three women and three men had been found, but stopped short of identifying them.
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bodies → say → them
A Briton and his Greek wife, aged 77 and 78, who lived in a flat on the building’s upper floor,
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who → live → floor
were among those killed, the Guardian was told.
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Guardian → kill → those
“The bodies have been taken to the morgue where postmortems will be conducted,” the city’s vice-mayor Paris Charlaftis said in a telephone interview from the blast scene.
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mayor → take → scene
What could have happened to bring the building down in a matter of seconds?”
uncertain
What → happen → seconds
Rescuers had deployed thermal cameras and geophones, used to detect deep subsonic frequencies, in the hope of finding survivors.
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Rescuers → deploy → survivors
Earth-moving machines and specially trained search dogs were brought in to move and comb mounds of rubble through the night.
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machines → move → night
Before the bodies were pulled from the ruins on Saturday, police put the missing at six, saying four were Americans staying in a short-term rental on the building’s first floor.
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four → pull → floor
Two brothers and their wives, all four were due to fly to the US on Friday, just hours after the explosion.
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four → fly → explosion
“When they failed to turn up for the flight they had checked into only a day earlier, that gave us a further lead,” a source said.
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source → fail → lead
“It became clearer that they must have been there when the blast occurred.”
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blast → become → ?
The Briton, a talented artist, who lived with his wife on the second floor, was described as being partially disabled by Charlaftis.
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who → live → Charlaftis
“He had kinetic issues, and it was thought likely they, too, were in the building [at the time of the blast].”
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they → have → blast
Nestled around the foot of the fifth-century BC Acropolis, Plaka is especially popular with tourists.
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Plaka → nestle → tourists
The picturesque district draws thousands of visitors daily, with many staying overnight in the hotels and short-term rentals in neoclassical houses and small apartment blocks along its alleyways and narrow streets.
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many → draw → alleyways
The mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, who rushed to 15 Lysikratous where the mid-20th century building had once stood, was quick to describe the incident as an “unprecedented disaster”.
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building → rush → disaster
At least three people were known to have been injured when the 7.30am explosion occurred, shattering the windows of nearby buildings and scattering debris far and wide.
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explosion → know → debris
A motorist driving down Lysikratous described how his car was lifted into the air by the sheer force of a blast that some in the neighbourhood likened to an earthquake, others to a bomb.
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others → drive → bomb
Emergency workers could be seen hastily removing two women on stretchers from a building next door who had been wounded by flying debris.
uncertain
who → see → debris
Speculation is rife that a gas leak triggered the collapse but officials said there were many “cogent theories” at play.
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officials → trigger → play
Fears of the leak emanating from the first-floor short-term rental was among them.
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Fears → emanate → them
As part of efforts to address a burgeoning housing crisis, Greece’s centre-right government has sought to ban short-term rentals in Plaka – clamping down on permits and tightening regulations.
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government → address → regulations
On Saturday, as speculation mounted over the cause of the blast, criticism grew over the ability to “properly control” establishments that were often unregulated.
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that → mount → establishments
“This awful incident will fuel further debate over who inspects short-term rentals that no one who lives in Plaka wants anyway,” said Giorgos Zafeiriou, an architect who heads the local residents’ committee.
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who → fuel → committee
“Hotels have chambers that regulate them but who inspects and controls Airbnb and serviced apartments that often may not be up to par?”
uncertain
that → have → par
Civil protection crews and emergency disaster management teams have been ordered to remain on site until the cause of the explosion is found, officials said.
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officials → order → explosion
“It was a huge explosion, so getting to the bottom of it must now be the priority,” added Zafeiriou.
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Zafeiriou → get → it
“Six people have lost their lives.”
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people → lose → lives
The Aporia
