Greece's former prime minister Lucas Papademos has been hurt by an explosive device hidden in an envelope, according to police.

The 69-year-old was rushed to hospital following the blast inside a car in central Athens on Thursday.

Mr Papademos has had surgery on stomach and leg injuries although they are not believed to be life-threatening, local media has reported.

However, there were concerns for Mr Papademos's eyesight.

Two other people in the vehicle were also injured, police said.


A government spokesman described the explosion as an attack and said all three who had been hurt were in a "stable condition, are conscious and are undergoing all the necessary medical tests".

The explosion is reported to have taken place as Mr Papademos read his post in the back of an armoured Mercedes.

It has been suggested the vehicle's external defences could have contained the blast and worsened the impact of the explosion.

Greek government minister Nikos Pappas told local television: "We are shocked. I wish to condemn this heinous act."

Image: Lucas Papademos served as Greece's prime minister between November 2011 and May 2012.

The country's current prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, was informed of the incident while attending a NATO summit in Brussels.

Mr Papademos served as Greece's caretaker prime minister between November 2011 and May 2012.

He was appointed to lead a provisional government as the country reeled from its debt crisis.

The economist previously served as vice-president of the European Central Bank and governor of the Bank of Greece.

In March, a Greek militant group named Conspiracy of Fire Cells said it was behind a parcel bomb sent to Germany's finance minister Wolfgang Schauble, which injured a postal worker.

It had previously claimed to have carried out a wave of explosive devices sent to foreign embassies in 2010.

The anti-establishment group has risen to prominence since Greece's debt crisis broke out in the wake of the 2008 global financial crash.