Fire brigade experts linked copper-pipe removal to gas-supply damage before a Sept. 25 Athens blast that killed six; Greek authorities arrested three people suspected of stealing the pipes, Reuters reported Friday.
The suspects are two Greek men and an Albanian national, authorities suspect of taking copper piping from a building in Plaka, a tourist district of central Athens. Authorities suspect the theft caused a gas leak.
Fire brigade officials said Thursday that experts with the service’s crime investigation unit found the removal had damaged the building’s main natural-gas supply system hours before the blast. The explosion happened early in the morning as a resident switched on a light. Four of those killed were Americans.
The three were due to appear before a prosecutor Friday.
