Horror in Greece as bomb explodes in central Athens

By Jon King, News Reporter

Athens: Police attend scene after suspected bomb explosion

A bomb has exploded in a busy neighbourhood in the centre of Athens. The device was planted near the offices of Hellenic Train, Greece's main railway company. There were no immediate reports of injuries after the explosion in the Greek capital on Friday (April 11).

Local media said a newspaper and news website received an anonymous tip off just before the blast. The caller warned a bomb had been planted outside the railway company's office and it would explode in about 40 minutes.

One Greek news outlet reported the caller had warned: "Be careful, it's not a joke."

Police cordoned off the area along a major road in the city after the blast, keeping locals and tourists away from the building, which is in an area where there are several bars and restaurants.

Officers at the scene said a bag containing an explosive device had been placed near the Hellenic Train building in Syngrou Avenue.

A bomb has exploded in Athens (Image: Dimitris Kapantais/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images)

Police cordoned off the site along a major avenue in the Greek capital (Image: Getty)

The explosion comes amid widespread public outrage over Greece's worst railway disaster. Fifty seven people were killed and dozens more injured when a freight and passenger train heading in opposite directions were accidentally put on the same track in February 2023.

Criticism of the Greek government's handling of the collision at Tempe, northern Greece, has mounted in the last few weeks in the wake of the second anniversary of the disaster.

Mostly young people who had been returning to university classes after a public holiday were killed in the horrific crash.

Greece has a history of politically-motivated violence which dates back to at least the 1970s. Domestic extremist groups have carried out small-scale bombings which most often cause damage but rarely result in injuries.

A newspaper and news website received an anonymous tip off shortly before the blast (Image: Getty)

While the groups most active in the 1980s and 1990s have been dismantled, new groups have emerged.

A man believed to have been trying to assemble a bomb was killed last year when the explosive device he was making went off in a flat in central Athens last year. A woman inside the apartment was severely injured.

The blast prompted Greece's Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis Chrisochoidis, to warn of an emerging new generation of domestic extremists.

The explosion on Friday night comes after red paint was thrown at the same Hellenic Train office in January.

That attack saw about 15 people spray the substance over the building before fleeing, according to local media.