Explosion outside the Bank of Greece

10 April 2014 / 09:04:03 GRReporter

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Photos: Naftemporiki, Skai TV

The bomb exploded in a car parked near the central bank, just before 6 am. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

At about 5:10 am an unknown man had called the Editors’ Newspaper and zougla.gr online edition and warned of a car full of 75 kilograms of dynamite that would explode in 45 minutes. Soon after that, the police found a stolen Nissan Sunny car that really exploded shortly thereafter.

The police immediately evacuated the area around the juncture of Stadiou Street and Amerikis Street and the people working nearby, who were mostly guards. Amerikis Street is full of broken glass from the car, which was fully destroyed, and from neighbouring shops and buildings. The city centre is currently closed off and the police are collecting material evidence and examining the videos of the security cameras of the Bank of Greece and the neighbouring buildings.

The case is under investigation by the anti-terrorism service. Naftemporiki newspaper refers to a senior official of the Greek police who states that today’s explosion at the Bank of Greece is directly related to today's issue of government bonds worth 2.5 billion euro.

According to To Vima, the Nissan car had been stolen on 6 April. The cameras recorded a man who parked it and left the site of the explosion on a supporting motorcycle. The newspaper claims that the offices of the Troika are located there.

"The terrorists will not achieve their goal," government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou commented on the case for Skai TV. The TV channel claims that it is unclear how the police had allowed a car to park there as, in general, parking is strictly prohibited at the site of the explosion. This is one of the most heavily guarded areas in Athens, as the head offices of many government institutions and private banks are located in the vicinity.