NEWS

Ivorian sets himself ablaze

ROME (Reuters) – A man from Ivory Coast doused himself with fuel and set himself on fire at Rome’s Fiumicino airport on Thursday after showing officials a deportation order, police said.

The incident occurred in a customs police office in Terminal 3 of the airport, Italy’s largest. Police said the man had poured a canister of fuel over himself and ignited it with a lighter.

The man was taken to hospital in serious condition while a policeman who put out the flames sustained a burn to his arm.

The smoke caused alarm among travellers and a small part of the airport was briefly closed off. No other injuries or disruption were reported.

(Reporting by Naomi O’Leary; Editing by Kevin Liffey)