A man has reportedly set himself on fire on the National Mall in Washington DC, near the White House.
Witnesses at the scene report seeing a man pouring petrol over himself from a red cannister before setting himself alight at around 16.20 local time (20.20 GMT)
Nearby runners are said to have ripped their shirts off in attempts to beat down the flames before emergency services arrived.
The man was flown by helicopter to the nearby Washington Hospital Center after receiving major burns, with firefighters saying that he was “conscious and breathing” although in a serious condition.
The man set himself on fire as a protest, although it remains unclear what exactly he was protesting against.
A number of eye witnesses tweeted photos from the scene:
DC police and passerby help man who set himself on fire on the Mall this afternoon pic.twitter.com/XTZc6WaaA2
— Vanessa Sink (@LiveMusicGirl) October 4, 2013
RT @TupperTiffany: Chaos on #nationalmall #DC http://t.co/kd7Al4uDhN
— Michael Rusch (@weeddude) October 4, 2013
Picture from the National Mall. Helicopter lifting off, efforting more details. pic.twitter.com/hv6pD20swp
— Brian Sasser (@ProducerSass) October 4, 2013
Lifting self immolated individual from the mall pic.twitter.com/xkaTniVELl
— Laura Wernick (@wernick7633) October 4, 2013
1 Comment
Why?