Skeleton discovered in derelict Exarchia block
The skeleton of a man found in a derelict apartment in the central Athens district of Exarchia yesterday is believed to be that of one of the capital’s several thousand homeless people. The remains of the unidentified man were discovered by a team of police officers who entered the apartment to investigate after neighbors complained that the block was so dirty that it posed a public health risk. Officers said the man had probably ventured into the apartment to shelter from the cold but did not rule out the possibility that he may have been a drug addict who overdosed. It is thought that between 2,000 and 3,000 people sleep rough in Athens out of some 17,000 nationwide. «I am afraid that this number will rise as more people are affected by the financial crisis,» said Aris Sapounakis, an adviser to the European Observatory on Homelessness.
