An explosion in a building linked to a “suicide attempt by gas” left seven people injured, one seriously, in Vendée.

The occupant of the apartment where the explosion occurred, a 48-year-old man, was airlifted in critical condition to the University Hospital of Nantes. He reportedly first attempted suicide by overdosing on medication, before trying to hang himself and then turning on the gas, causing the explosion, a source close to the investigation told AFP. The six other injured people, after medical examination, did not require emergency medical attention, as reported by our colleagues at Ouest-France .

Around sixty firefighters were mobilized.

The incident occurred in an old building, a former gendarmerie barracks converted into social housing, “with high walls that pose a risk of collapse, which is why the firefighters are acting with the utmost caution ,” explained the sub-prefect of La Roche-sur-Yon. Around sixty firefighters were mobilized at the scene to try to control the blaze that followed the explosion in this village of approximately 2,000 inhabitants in the Vendée region. An investigation has been opened for ” arson ,” according to the public prosecutor of La Roche-sur-Yon, Sarah Huet.