A 39-year-old Turkish construction worker, identified only by his initials S.A., set himself on fire near the gate of Turkish Parliament on Friday. Eye witnesses said the man was carrying a bin and shouted, “I cannot earn a living” as he poured gasoline over himself and set it alight.
Police officers at the gates quickly intervened and put out the fire, news reports said, but the man had burns on the left part of his head as he was taken to the hospital.
Last time a man has succumbed to burn injuries one day after setting himself on fire in Turkey’s southwestern province of Antalya in a bid to protest his joblessness in February 8, 2016. Ulaş Akın had went to Antalya’s Muratpaşa Municipality, hoping to speak with the district mayor after he was fired from his job as a construction worker.
However, the 32-year old Turkish citizen was informed that Mayor Umit Uysal was elsewhere for a meeting. Akın had poured a barrel of gasoline over himself before igniting the liquid, according to eyewitnesses. People immediately intervened to extinguish the flames, but Akın’s burns were severe.
The unemployed man died at Akdeniz University Hospital the day following the incident. Akın’s funeral is set to be held in his hometown of Karaman.
