Parents of three die in Athens apartment, possibly from gas fire fumes

The parents of three children aged 11, 17 and 19 years old were found dead in their bed in an apartment in downtown Athens’ Metaxourgeio district in the early hours of Friday, possibly as a result of a gas leak from a room heater.

The couple were found unconscious by their children, who were in another room when they realized something was wrong and went to check on their parents, the Athens-Macedonian News Agency reported, without providing details of the victims’ identities apart from that they were foreign nationals.

The children called the ambulance service when they couldn’t wake their parents up, but the couple were pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital shortly after. A gas heater in their bedroom is seen as the likely culprit.

Doctors checked the youngsters and found them to be in good health.