Man dies after self-immolation on National Mall in Washington
A man has died after setting himself on fire on the National Mall in Washington. The man was airlifted to hospital after bystanders used the shirts off their backs to tamp down the flames, police and witnesses said.
A man has died after setting himself on fire on the National Mall in Washington.
Police responded to an emergency call about a fire shortly before 4.30pm on the Mall.
The man was airlifted to hospital after bystanders used the shirts off their backs to tamp down the flames, police and witnesses said.
The man, who was not identified, was conscious when he was taken to Washington Hospital Centre but he later died from his injuries.
A police spokesman said the man was so badly burned that he would need to be identified through DNA and dental records.
The apparent self-immolation in the heart of Washington's tourist area rattled the city a day after a car chase that began at the White House ended in a fatal shooting outside the US Capitol. Nicole Didyk, an environmental engineer for the Federal Aviation Administration, said she was out for a run when she saw a man with small flames on him.
