The head of Athens First Instance Prosecutor’s Office ordered an urgent preliminary examination on Wednesday following reports of cracks and subsidence caused in apartment buildings in Kypseli district of Athens by the works of the subway for Metro Line 4.
The investigation will determine whether criminal acts have been committed and whether there is any danger from the work being carried out.
In more than 15 apartment buildings in Kypseli suddenly appeared cracks, and residents became highly concerned about the stability of the buildings and demanded answers from the “Hellenic Metro” about the work being done in the area by the metro operator.
A few days ago, the complaint was made by the Kypseli Residents’ Initiative, which was created for this purpose.
According to the complaint “in the streets between Kypseli Square and Evelpidon, residents (…) were experiencing scenes of destruction inside their own homes: cracks opening up, building materials detaching, buildings detaching from adjacent buildings, water that began to gush in basements.”
“It looks like earthquake”
Some residents describe the phenomenon like a stroke from an earthquake.
As they said in their resolution and complaint “some residents temporarily abandoned their homes. Tenants who were able to abandon the neighborhood completely have already left.The phenomenon resembled an earthquake that continued for days.”
A few weeks after the collapse of an apartment building in Petralona, this new incident comes and shakes the residents of Kypseli who are anxious about the damage their apartment buildings have suffered from the work being done for Metro line 4.
According to daily tanea.gr. subsidence of 18 to 20 centimeters has been observed in the area, while residents are reporting cracks in columns and walls, falling plaster, detachments and broken marble.
The works of the underground metro in Kypseli have already been suspended. The issue is expected to reach the Athens municipal council today, Wednesday. The council had signed the relevant memorandum of cooperation for the construction of Metro line 4 in January 2022.
It is recalled that in April, an alarm was raised in the area due to “liquid cement” coming out of a well of an old house in the area. Back then, media attributed the mysterious appearance in the well and on the streets to the Metro works.
*crack pictures uploaded by residents on FB.
