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NEW: Ex-PM needed surgery but his condition "does not raise concerns," hospital says
Lucas Papademos opened the letter bomb while riding in a car, CNN Greece reports
Former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was injured in a letter bomb explosion while riding in a car in the country’s capital Thursday evening, according to Greek police.
Papademos, who also once served as the country’s central bank governor, opened the booby-trapped envelope as his vehicle made its way through a central Athens intersection surrounded by apartment buildings, CNN Greece reported.
He was taken to Evangelismos Athens General Hospital, according to a police spokesman.
“After providing first aid for several superficial wounds in his chest, abdomen and thighs and put under full clinical and laboratory testing it was decided that Lucas Papademos has to undergo surgery for wound cleansing on his right thigh. His condition is stable and does not raise concerns,” a hospital statement said.
Two other victims – Papademos’ driver and an unidentified third person who was in the vehicle – suffered “superficial wounds” and they remain in the hospital as a precautionary measure, the statement said.
Images of the car indicate it incurred substantial damage, the state-run Athens-Macedonia News Agency reported.
Papademos served as head of Greece’s caretaker government from November 2011 to May 2012, following an eight-year tenure as vice president of the European Central Bank.
