What happened

Around 08:40 local time on Thursday, 22 October 2026, a gas pipeline was damaged in Kolonos, Athens, while workers were repairing an underground fault in the electricity lighting network. The site is where the Distomou pedestrian street meets Tripoleos street, in the city's 4th Municipal Community. The Athens municipality said a small leak followed. Work stopped immediately, the site was secured, and the gas supply was cut by closing a valve. Enaon EDA, the gas network operator, was notified and had begun restoring the pipe by the time the municipality issued its statement.

The schools and the evacuation

Fire crews attended as a precaution, and four schools near the site were emptied. The municipality named them as the 57th and 61st Primary Schools and the 55th and 116th Kindergartens of Athens. Other outlets gave a different list. in.gr and Kathimerini named the 52nd Gymnasium and the 52nd Lyceum of the area, while To Vima listed those two plus the 57th and 61st Primary Schools. To Vima also reported a strong smell of gas at the site, and said the pipe was reportedly pierced during the works, while noting that no confirmed information yet existed on the extent of the damage.

How the pipe was hit

The municipality said the pipe was black without yellow stripes, and its marking mesh was white instead of yellow with no sign of gas. Accounts differ on who struck it. The municipality's statement described the work as an accident involving a crew carrying out electricity repairs. Other reports said an excavator struck the pipe by mistake, and in.gr and Kathimerini said a contracting firm working for the municipality had been digging close to the school when the pipe was hit. Kathimerini also linked the event to a case in Gravas, where a school complex stayed closed for weeks after a gas smell and where, according to the same report, significant safety gaps and departures from the original design studies came to light.

Official response

Deputy Mayor for Technical Services Pari Charlaftis said the municipality's priority was the protection of people in the area.

“Our priority is the safety of residents, passers-by and workers.”

The electricity works at the site will resume only after the pipe has been fully restored. As of the municipality's statement, Enaon EDA crews were already carrying out that repair. The return of pupils and teachers to the four buildings had not been announced, and To Vima said updates on the repair and the safe reopening of the schools were still awaited.