Trade unionist sets himself on fire

Photo: sxc.hu

The 40-year-old man was a member of Poland's trade union for railway conductors and had allegedly been on a hunger strike with six colleagues since Wednesday.

At one point during the talks at the Krakow office of the regional train operator (Przewozy Regionalne) on Thursday afternoon, he left the negotiating table and went to the bathroom.

There he doused himself with a flammable liquid, and set himself on fire.

His colleagues rushed to extinguish the flames, but serious burns had been inflicted.

The man is currently in a medically induced coma at a Krakow hospital, and police are interviewing witnesses concerning the incident.

It is the second case of self-immolation in Poland over the last fortnight, after a man set himself alight outside the Prime Minister's office in Warsaw.

Source: IAR, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna