Greece: Man hurt after setting himself on fire

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT A man pours a flammable liquid on his body to set himself on fire outside a Piraeus bank branch in Thessaloniki in northern Greece September 16, 2011. The 55-year old man had entered the bank and asked for a renegotiation of his overdue loan payments on his home and business, according to police, which he could not pay, but was refused by the bank. (Reuters)








THESSALONIKI, Greece — Greek authorities say a 55-year-old man has been hospitalized with chest burns after dousing himself with gasoline and then setting his clothes on fire. The man shouted that he was in debt as he carried out the act.

Police said the incident occurred Friday in Thessaloniki, in northern Greece, in front of a bank. Police used fire extinguishers to put out the blaze.

The injured man was not identified, but police say he had also set himself on fire and suffered burns 15 months ago, after complaining he could not pay back the debts from his failed business.

Debt-plagued Greece is in its third year of recession, and is surviving on international rescue loans. Drastic cost-cutting measures have caused a rash of business failures and record unemployment.

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