A suffocating atmosphere filled with the smell of smoke, scattered charred debris, and visible anxiety has taken hold at the intersection of Gravias and Kimonos Voga streets, in the Analipsi neighborhood of Thessaloniki. This grim scene is the aftermath of a violent arson attack that erupted in the early morning hours inside the ground-floor parking area of the apartment building where New Democracy political candidate Afroditi Nestora resides.
According to voria.gr, at approximately 4:20 a.m., a triple attack using gas canisters was carried out against three homes belonging to officials of the ruling party in the Toumba and Analipsi districts. Unknown perpetrators planted incendiary devices at apartment buildings housing Zisis Ioakeimovits, president of the New Democracy Administrative Committee in Thessaloniki; Savvas Anastasiadis, former Member of Parliament for Thessaloniki B’ with New Democracy; and New Democracy political candidate Afroditi Nestora.
Arson attacks in Thessaloniki: “I could hear the gas canisters exploding,” says building resident
Recounting the terrifying experience, one resident of the building described the moment of the explosion and the immediate aftermath: “I heard voices, but I didn’t pay much attention. I thought it was children playing. A little while later, I started to smell something and went out to see what was happening — I could hear the gas canisters going off. I called the fire department and they told me they had already been notified. They arrived shortly after, along with EKAV ambulances. The situation was horrific,” said the resident, who watched his motorcycle, parked in the ground-floor lot, burn to ash.
A woman living in an apartment building across the street said she was jolted awake by a loud explosion. “We thought it was some kind of accident. Shortly after, the entire area filled with black smoke. My apartment filled with smoke too. We were frightened it was a fire caused by some household appliance. The fire department arrived quickly and took immediate action. Thankfully, there were no fatalities.”
“We put wet towels over our faces to survive”
Another resident of the building at the corner of Gravias and Voga streets — who also lost his motorcycle in the blaze — described the moment the explosion struck while he and his family were asleep. “I heard a noise, a bang. I thought I was dreaming. I was woken up by shouts coming from the fourth and fifth floors. There was smoke inside the apartment. I woke my wife, we got our daughter up, and we put wet towels over our faces. We placed a towel along the bottom of the door — there was quite a lot of smoke inside — and we went straight out onto the balcony. I was woken up by Mr. Nestoras shouting. I saw him on the adjacent balcony; he had managed to get out in time. The man was in shock, and then I saw his wife — she was in a very bad state — and she was taken away by ambulance,” he recounted, visibly shaken.
Afroditi Nestora’s mother dies following the attack
The attack proved fatal for the family of Afroditi Nestora. The political candidate’s mother passed away in the Intensive Care Unit of Hippokration Hospital, having sustained severe burns across her entire body.
Meanwhile, the remaining residents of the building are struggling to recover from the shock. On the first floor, an elderly couple was out early in the morning cleaning their balcony, which had been completely blackened by the explosion. On the street below, passersby stopped in horror, staring at the scorched walls and the completely destroyed vehicles in the ground-floor parking area — a scene that resembled the aftermath of a bombing.
