A powerful and mysterious explosion completely destroyed a hotel in Kastoria, northern Greece, early Thursday morning. The hotel has been closed since one year. No injuries have so far been reported.
The blast at 1.30 a.m, brought down the three-storey building, scattering fragments of glass and metal objects in a radius of at least 80 meters.
The sound was heard many kilometers away.
Eyewitness spoke of small fires and thick smoke.
Video footage from the scene shown on state-run broadcaster ERT on Thursday morning showed smoke billowing from a pile of rubble.
Firefighters from Kastoria have been dispatched on the scene while police officers have cordoned off the area and blocked traffic on the main highway.
The regional Fire Service and Kastoria Police said the owner of the hotel told them that the business had been closed for the past year and that nobody was inside the building at the time of the explosion.
The hotel was using natural gas and locals attribute the explosion to some leakage, ANT1 TV reported.
The fire service and local police did not provide any clues as to the cause of the blast but said they were investigating the incident.
The 3-star Tsamis Hotel is located right at the shore of the lake of Kastoria, it had 75 rooms and five suites.
source: fouit.gr and others
