Bomb explodes near national train company office in Athens, no injuries reported

A bomb planted near the offices of Hellenic Train, Greece’s main railway company, has in a busy district of central Athens, authorities have said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Local media said a newspaper and a news website had received an anonymous call shortly before Friday evening’s blast, with the caller warning that a bomb had been planted outside the railway company offices and would explode within about 40 minutes.

Police cordoned off the site along a major avenue in the Greek capital, keeping residents and tourists away from the building in an area with several bars and restaurants.

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

The explosion comes amid widespread public anger over the 2023 Tempi railway disaster, Greece’s worst, in which 57 people were killed and dozens more injured when a freight train and a passenger train heading in opposite directions were accidentally put on the same track.

Criticism over the government’s handling of that crash has mounted over the last few weeks in the wake of the second anniversary of the disaster, which killed mostly young people who had been returning to university classes after a public holiday.