Investigators believe bomb attached to car caused deadly blast
A car explosion on Monday morning that resulted in the death of the driver and the serious injury of his female passenger appears to have been caused by an explosive device attached to the vehicle, forensic experts said.
The man had been driving the woman to Athens International Airport on the Attiki Odos highway on Monday morning when the vehicle burst into flames before crashing into a concrete barrier at the side of the road, witnesses interviewed by the police said. The driver died of blood loss, while the woman in the passenger seat suffered extensive burns and is currently in intensive care.
Both the man and the woman have been identified as Albanian nationals, though authorities did not release their names. The former reportedly worked as a bouncer at a nightclub in the eastern Athenian suburb of Argyroupoli, leading investigators to believe that the attack may have been linked to his job.
The investigation of the crime scene revealed a crater in the road where the explosion occurred as well as a large indentation in the floor of the car, suggesting that a bomb may have been attached to the undercarriage and set off to explode by a timing device.
The man’s clothing has been sent for further analysis with the aim of determining what kind of explosive material was used.
