ATHENS – The cause of the Thursday afternoon blaze at an Athens hotel which sent three people to the hospital might be attributed to arson, Fire Brigade investigators reported on Thursday evening.

Two plastic containers with flammable liquid were recovered intact in the second floor corridor and another on the first floor, where the fire is thought to have started.

Investigators said this evidence suggests that someone intended to start the fire and help it spread fast across the entire building.

Firefighters earlier rescued 20 people from the burning hotel on Syngrou Avenue, in Athens’ Neos Kosmos district, on Thursday afternoon. Of these, three had to be rushed to hospital with serious respiratory issues caused by smoke inhalation.

The three taken to hospital included two women and one man, who had broken his leg in the panic that ensued after the fire broke out. Meanwhile, one of the two women is on life support in the intensive care unit, and is thought to be in critical condition.

According to the inspectors, the fire appears to have started in the corridor of the first floor, possibly outside the room that was damaged.

Paladium Hotel in downtown Athens. (Photo by Eurokinissi/ Yiannis Panagopoulos)