Police investigating blast near Hellenic Train offices

There has been an explosion in central Athens, near the offices of Greek railway company Hellenic Train.

CCTV footage captured the moment the blast appeared to rip through a backpack, reportedly left outside the office block late on Friday.

Police said anonymous calls were made to Greek media outlets warning of the attack, which happened close to one of the capital’s busiest highways, Leoforos Andrea Siggrou. No fatalities or injuries have been reported.

Greece’s Transport Minister Christos Staikouras condemned it as a “criminal act”, which had “endangered the lives of people”.

Local news outlets Efsyn, a Greek daily newspaper, and website Zougla – both of which received a call – said the explosive device had apparently been placed in a padlocked backpack and placed on a scooter without licence plates.

A police bomb disposal squad arrived too late to safely detonate the device before it exploded, they said.

Staikouras, the minister of infrastructure and transport, said the attack was “an absolutely condemnable act”.

“This is a criminal act, which endangered the lives of people, employees and passers-by, in a central point of Athens and during peak traffic hour,” he said in a statement.

“Nothing justifies terrorism, no act of violence brings justice. The authorities and the judiciary now have the floor,” Staikouras added.

Hellenic Train confirmed no employees or passing citizens were injured and that the blast caused “limited material damage”.

“Our company unequivocally condemns all forms of violence and tensions that fuel a climate of toxicity that undermines all progress.”

Although the cause of the explosion is not yet known, it comes amid widespread public anger over a railway disaster that took place more than two years ago.

In February 2023 a freight train and a passenger train carrying 350 people, headed in opposite directions, were accidentally put on the same track. Fifty-seven people, most of them young students, died. Dozens more were injured.

Multiple protests have been held in Greece since, including earlier this year to mark the crash’s second anniversary.

Those demonstrations descended into violence, with hooded protesters seen throwing rocks and petrol bombs at police. Officers responded with tear gas and water cannons.

An inquiry concluded in February that the train crash was caused by human error, poor maintenance and inadequate staffing.

A date for a trial is yet to be announced.