Mail Bomb Kills 7, Injures 10 at Air Courier Office in Greece

A mail bomb, thought to be the work of terrorists, killed seven people and injured 10 others Friday at the offices of an air courier service associated with U.S.-owned United Parcel Service, police said.

The midday blast rocked central Patras, a port city about 180 miles west of Athens. Eight people were seriously injured and were rushed to nearby hospitals, police said.

The blast wrecked six cars, hurling one across the street, and blew out windows blocks away. The British consul’s office is on the same street about 300 feet away.

“From all indications, the explosion was due to a terrorist act,” government spokesman Byron Polydoras told journalists in Athens.

It was the most serious attack in Greece since Arab guerrillas ran amok with assault rifles and hand grenades on the tourist ship City of Poros near Athens in July, 1988. Nine people were killed and about 80 injured in that attack.

An eyewitness, George Parashos, said: “The explosion was terrible. People panicked and were running in all directions to avoid flying debris.”

The bomb exploded at the entrance to Air Courier Service (ACS), a private Greek company which represents the United Parcel Service in Greece, devastating the ground floor offices. The firms deliver mail and packages worldwide.

Police said a man appeared to be carrying a package with the bomb in or out of ACS. They were uncertain whether he was planting the device intentionally or was an unwitting victim.

They were also uncertain whether ACS was the target of the attack, or a conduit by which the device was being sent when it accidentally detonated.