A man who set himself on fire in the vicinity of the Prime Minister’s Office a fortnight ago has died. A spokesman for the Military Medical Institute in Warsaw, where the 56-year-old was being treated, confirmed in an interview with the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that the man died on Thursday.
The initial incident took place on the morning of 12 June.
56 years old Andrzej Filipiak from Kielce, southern Poland, doused himself with a flammable liquid while sitting on a bench near the governmental building, and then set himself alight.
Bystanders did their best to put out the flames as quickly as possible. However, grave injuries had been inflicted.
According to the family of the deceased, the man set himself alight out of desperation over financial worries, the weekly Wprost reports.
The man was registered as unemployed. He had previously worked in the construction industry, but after a spinal injury he was unable to find further work in that profession.
The man’s wife is also understood to have lost her job, exacerbating the situation.
Meanwhile, doctors in Krakow have stated that a trade unionist who set himself on fire on Thursday during negotiations over railway staff lay-offs is in a stable condition.
(nh)
[ubm_premium banners=13 count=1]
