Man sets himself on fire near Turkish Parliament

ANKARA – Doğan News Agency

The man was immediately taken to hospital. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ

A man was critically injured after pouring gasoline over his body and setting himself on fire near the Turkish Parliament building yesterday.

The 50-year-old man, identified only as S.Y.T, was immediately taken to hospital after Parliament’s police officers extinguished the flames on his body.

The exact reason for the suicide attempt is not known, though main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Aykan Erdemir claimed via his Twitter account that the man had set himself on fire due to poverty.

The man’s condition is not currently life-threatening, and he is responding well to hospital treatment, according to reports.