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The bodies of a man and a young woman were found as rescuers removed debris from the building which was reduced to a mess of twisted metal, shattered tiles and concrete slabs, the fire brigade official said.

Household items and clothing were strewn amid the debris.

Police spokeswoman Constantina Dimoglidou told reporters: “[The rescue operation] is not easy as the biggest part of the building has collapsed and there is risk for adjacent buildings which have been evacuated for security reasons.”

The tourists, two American couples, were expected to check out to catch a flight from Athens airport at 3pm on Friday but didn’t show up, a police source said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blast in an area which is home to many hotels and short-term rentals.

Athens mayor Haris Doukas said on Friday it was likely linked to gas infrastructure, adding: “Something went terribly wrong.”

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A Foreign Office spokesman told GB News: “We are aware of a suspected explosion in Athens and are in touch with the local authorities.

“We stand ready to offer assistance to British Nationals abroad 24/7.”

Panagiotis-Paris Harlafti, deputy mayor in Athens, told The Sun: “Now that the victims have been found, the operation will turn to the cause and discovering what triggered the explosion.

“It could have been a gas leak, it could have been something else, even an explosive device, but we will only be sure in due course. All the bodies have been taken to the morgue where post mortems will be conducted.”

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REUTERS

One worker in the area told local media she noticed a strong smell of gas before the explosion.

She said: “Smoke came out, I saw the building collapsing in front of me. All the windows were broken. There was a grandmother inside, but she got up and escaped. The police came and took us out.

“The bang was loud, we weren’t hit, we escaped.

“It smelled like LPG, like gas and there was smoke. I saw a grandfather down at the entrance who had hit his head.”