Athens blast leaves five missing near Acropolis

Five people, including three tourists, were missing on Friday after an early morning explosion destroyed a two-floor building in Athens' historic Plaka district near the Acropolis, the Greek fire service said.

A fire department spokesperson told AFP that rescuers were searching the debris with a dog for anyone who may be trapped. The fire service said it was looking for two elderly people who lived on the building's top floor and three tourists believed to have rented the apartment below.

The blast damaged neighbouring homes, broke windows in surrounding buildings and damaged parked cars. After several hours, no sign of the missing people had been found in the debris.

State TV ERT said two women in a neighbouring building were hospitalised with minor injuries and a passer-by was also lightly injured. The cause was not finally established; early information pointed to a gas leak.