University student sets himself ablaze 'to see how he burns' in southern Turkey

ADANA

A university student was rushed to hospital after setting himself alight in the Mediterranean province of Adana on April 10, Doğan News Agency has reported.

Mehmet Ali D., 18, a student in the Computer Engineering Department of Çukurova University, reportedly borrowed money from his friend, with which he bought three bottles of lamp oil before going to a wasteland area in Adana’s Sarıçam district. 

There he set himself alight after pouring lamp oil over himself. Witnesses intervened and managed to extinguish the flames with water. He was then taken to the nearby Adana Balcalı hospital with severe burns.

One of the witnesses, Çağlar Dinç, said the student had told him before that he was “curious about how he would burn.”

“He said he was curious about it. He said he would set himself alight to see how he burns. His condition was very bad after the incident. His clothes were totally burned and he was naked,” Dinç said.

Another witness, Kadir Tunay, said Mehmet Ali D. was running around after setting himself alight.

“I was inside watching TV when a fire started to blaze outside. Usually people come here to drink alcohol and I thought at first that they had started a fire outside. But then this ball of fire started running around. We managed to extinguish the flames while he was running,” Tunay said.