Athens: Violent explosion shakes the city center

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Buildings in central Athens: Immense damage

Photo: Derek Gatopoulos/AP

An explosion shook the center of Athens in the morning.

One person was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, the emergency services said.

There was serious damage to facades, offices and apartments in the city.

The explosion happened just after 6:50 a.m. local time on the first floor of a building.

According to residents of the news channel Skai, it was empty and should be renovated.

The accident is said to be due to escaping gas, Greek media reported, citing the fire brigade.

Shock wave destroys windows

State television reports showed debris on the Syngrou central city highway, and the fire brigade was putting out smaller fires.

According to the information, windows in almost all buildings in the area were destroyed by the blast.

"It was like an earthquake," said an eyewitness on television.

Taxi driver Christos Chalkias was in front of the building at the time of the explosion.

The windows of his car shattered.

"The explosion threw us two lanes to the right," he told Reuters news agency.

The video from a surveillance camera a good kilometer away showed the extent of the explosion – the huge bang could still be heard well there and the explosion could be seen.

Even many kilometers away, people were startled by the violent explosion.

saw/dpa/Reuters