The building manager phoned 100 on Wednesday, 21 October, reporting a suspicious suitcase in the building that he said contained drugs, and police went to collect it.
One police officer was seriously injured and taken to the 401 Military Hospital, while three others were taken to Evangelismos Hospital with lighter injuries.
Police said there was no evidence so far linking the blast to a terrorist act and that the officers were not ambushed, since their presence was tied to the manager's call.
A bomb disposal team collected material from the device to look for fingerprints and genetic traces that could help identify the person who placed it.
On Wednesday, 21 October, the manager of an apartment block on Akadimias Platonos in Kolonos, Athens, called the emergency number 100. He told the authorities that a suspicious suitcase stood in a ground-floor area of the building and, by his account, contained drugs. Police were asked to come and collect it. According to early reports, the manager had already opened the bag and seen a scale and various substances. Officers went to the building, and the manager was present when they began examining the bag.
While the officers were examining the suitcase, a strong explosion went off because an explosive device had been fixed to its underside. The shock wave shattered glass in the building entrance. Eighteen firefighters with six vehicles were sent to the scene. Early reports said no fire had broken out, while one report said a fire had followed the blast and that firefighters were working to bring it under control, so the early accounts conflict on that point. Police cordoned off the area with strong forces.
Four people were hurt. Early reports agree that one police officer was seriously injured and taken to the 401 Military Hospital. Three others suffered lighter injuries and were taken to Evangelismos Hospital. The sources disagree on who the three were. Some reports describe two police officers and two civilians, including the building manager. Others describe one officer and three civilians, with the manager among them.
Police said that, at this stage, there is no evidence linking the incident to a terrorist act, and the terrorism scenario appears to be receding. Police also said the officers were not ambushed, since their presence at the building was tied to the manager's call. Investigators are considering whether a booby trap was set. A bomb disposal team collected material from the device to look for fingerprints and genetic traces that could help identify whoever placed it. The conditions under which the explosion occurred and the identity of the perpetrator remain under investigation.
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A device hidden in a suitcase exploded at the entrance of an apartment block in Kolonos, Athens, on Wednesday, 21 October, injuring four people. One police officer is in serious condition, and investigators have not yet identified who placed the device.
AI text based on reports by Ειδήσεις, H Kαθημερινή, NewsIT and other publishers. Published .