Central Athens Explosion Rocks Close to Greek Railway Offices

Police are investigating a blast that occurred close to the Hellenic Train offices in Athens; no casualties have been reported.

The Greek railway firm Hellenic Train’s offices in central Athens were the scene of an explosion late Friday. The bomb seemed to tear through a bag that had been left outside the office complex.

CCTV footage shows the explosion, which took place at a peak traffic hour near Leoforos Andrea Siggrou, one of the capital’s busiest roadways. Thankfully, there have been no reports of fatalities or injuries.

Before the incident, police said, anonymous calls had been placed to Greek media outlets alerting them to the explosion. The gadget was allegedly left on a scooter without license plates and inside a padlocked backpack. It was too late for a bomb disposal unit to safely detonate the device before it exploded.

Christos Staikouras, Greece’s minister of transportation, promptly denounced the attack, calling it a “criminal act” that had put local residents’ lives in peril. “Nothing justifies terrorism, no act of violence brings justice,” Staikouras stressed in a statement. He urged the judges and authorities to act quickly on the issue.

Although the explosion caused “limited material damage,” Hellenic Train also denounced the attack and confirmed that neither staff nor bystanders were hurt. “Our company unequivocally condemns all forms of violence and tensions that fuel a climate of toxicity that undermines all progress,” the statement read.

The origin of the explosion is still unknown, although it happened during a period of increased public ire over a railway accident that happened more than two years earlier. A freight train and a passenger train carrying 350 people collided in a horrific accident in February 2023 after they were inadvertently put on the same track.

The nation was devastated by the catastrophe, which claimed the lives of 57 people, largely young students. Since then, there have been a number of protests, some of which have turned violent and resulted in altercations with police.

When protesters commemorated the tragedy’s second anniversary earlier this year, hooded figures flung rocks and petrol bombs at police, turning the demonstrations violent. Police used water cannons and tear gas in response. A February investigation found that poor maintenance, insufficient manpower, and human error were to blame for the catastrophe. A date for the incident-related trial has not yet been set, though.