Six people have been killed after a powerful explosion caused a residential building to collapse in the Plaka district of Athens, Greece, near the historic Acropolis.

The explosion occurred shortly after 7:30 a.m. on Friday, September 25, destroying much of the two-storey building on Lysikratous Street and damaging nearby buildings, shops and vehicles.

Rescue teams searched the rubble for more than 24 hours using specialist equipment, search-and-rescue dogs, cameras and geophones. The bodies of all six people who had been reported missing were eventually recovered.

The victims included four American tourists who were staying in a short-term rental apartment and an elderly British man and his Greek wife who lived in the building. Authorities were still working on the formal identification of the victims.

Several people in neighbouring properties were also affected. Two women were rescued from a nearby building and taken to hospital, while another person suffered minor injuries from flying debris.

The exact cause of the explosion remains under investigation. Authorities are examining the possibility of a gas leak or another problem involving gas infrastructure, but no definitive cause has yet been established.

Firefighters, police and specialist investigators remained at the scene as authorities assessed the damage and continued investigating the circumstances surrounding the deadly blast.