35 Homeless in Blast Linked to Suicide Attempt

A natural-gas explosion believed caused by an attempted suicide rocked a Van Nuys apartment house shortly after midnight today, destroying three apartments, injuring six people and leaving 35 homeless.

The blast, in a second-floor apartment, extensively damaged the 10-unit complex at 6858 Kester Ave., leveling part of the two-story building’s rear wall and leaving the building uninhabitable, Los Angeles police and firefighters said.

Police said the occupant of the apartment where the blast occurred, Carlos Hasjim, 21, a student, was thrown into the rear parking lot of the building by the force of the explosion. Hasjim, who received first- and second-degree burns on his face, neck and arms, was transported to Sherman Oaks Community Hospital and later to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in good condition, officials said.

Five other tenants of the building were treated at the scene for minor injuries, officials said. They said that tenants left homeless by the explosion would be provided temporary shelter through the Red Cross.

Police said the blast was believed to be an attempted suicide because all gas jets on the oven in Hasjim’s apartment were turned on full and he made statements that did not match that evidence. According to police, Hasjim told investigators that he smelled gas in the apartment, but went into the bathroom and lit a cigarette.

The resulting blast destroyed apartments on both sides of Hasjim’s and started a blaze that took firefighters 20 minutes to contain.