Three men charged with causing the deadly explosion in Athens’ Plaka district were given until Monday afternoon to prepare for their testimony, after appearing before an investigating magistrate on Friday.
The three men, two Greeks and an Albanian national, are alleged to have damaged the gas installation in a residential building in an attempt to steal copper piping, resulting in a gas leak that caused an explosion and the collapse of the building, killing six people.
The suspects were taken into custody on Thursday under arrest warrants issued after a 34-day investigation by a fire service arson investigation unit. They were charged and led before an examining magistrate on Friday. The charges against them include multiple counts of homicide with possible intent, causing explosions and arson leading to the intentional death of others and causing grievous bodily harm.
According to the evidence gathered by the authorities using CCTV footage and an expert analysis of evidence found at the scene, the three men are suspected of compromising the integrity of the building’s gas installation in an attempt to yank free and steal a copper pipe.
Among those killed in the subsequent explosion were an elderly Briton and his Greek spouse living on the top floor of the building, and two couples from the United States who were occupying a short-term lease on the first floor, including a woman who was pregnant.
“We are devastated that seven people lost their lives over a pipe worth € 25,” said a lawyer representing the families of the American victims, who will formally join the proceedings as civil parties in support of the prosecution during the investigation.
All three men had a previous criminal record for thefts and drug violations and had also carried out criminal actions on the same day as the explosion in various areas, from Omonia to Neos Kosmos. Analysing CCTV footage from dozens of cameras, investigators tracked their movements and discovered that they entered the building on Lysikratous Street about five and a half hours before the explosion. According to the authorities, they allegedly entered the ground floor of the stairwell in an attempt to cut the copper pipe attached to the gas meter.
The charges against them are:
Arson endangering human life, resulting in the intentional death of others, acting jointly.
Causing an explosion endangering human life, resulting in the intentional death of others, acting jointly.
Multiple counts of homicide with possible intent, acting jointly.
Multiple counts of causing grievous bodily harm, acting jointly.
