Three men arrested over deadly Athens gas explosion that killed pregnant woman and five others

Three men arrested over deadly Athens gas explosion that killed pregnant woman and five others The devastating gas explosion blew up the entire property and narrowly missed a bus full of school children - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in Three men have been arrested in Greece in connection with a deadly explosion that killed six people. Two Greek nationals and an Albanian have been held on suspicion of stealing copper gas pipes from a building in Athens that blew up on September 25. The blast happened around 7.30am in the historic district of Plaka after one of the residents turned on the light. According to Proto Thema, the three suspects allegedly entered the building in the early hours of that morning and cut and removed part of a copper pipe, which damaged the installation. Natural gas started escaping into the building and accumulated on the second floor. It ignited by an electrical spark when the light was flicked on. Of the six killed in the explosion, four were American citizens - Florida Hoxha, 34, her husband Ian Kirkpatrick, 37, her brother Florin Hoxha, 36, and his partner Eris Caney, 39, who was five months pregnant with a baby girl. All four were due to return home to the US later that day, said Florida and Florin’s brother Clyde Hoxha, who added that Florida and Ian had celebrated their wedding just 25 days before the tragedy. The two other victims were an elderly couple, one British, one Greek - a man, 78, and his 77-year-old wife - who lived on the second floor where the explosion took place. Pictures from the scene showed the devastation, with more than half the residential building reduced to rubble and damage to neighbouring properties. “We are not angry. I mean, grief is anger. Grief is many things. But we are not blaming anyone. We just want some peace, to know exactly what happened. It is truly devastating,” said the victims’ brother Clyde. Following an investigation, experts with the fire brigade's crime investigation unit concluded that hours before the blast, the suspects damaged the two-storey building's main natural gas supply infrastructure as they removed the copper pipe parts, fire brigade officials said late on Thursday. The blast narrowly missed a school bus carrying 12 children, which had passed along Lysikratous Street seconds before the gas explosion. Debris rained down on the road and some of it struck the minibus, but all of the children escaped injury. The three suspects are expected to appear before a prosecutor on Friday. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments