WELLINGTON, New Zealand: A man who set himself on fire outside New Zealand’s parliament was in a critical condition Thursday, police said, just two days before the country’s general election.
Fire and ambulance officers rushed to the man, who journalists at the Wellington building said was a lone protester.
Radio New Zealand said witnesses reported seeing the man holding a placard relating to the family court.
One unnamed bystander told the radio station he saw the incident from the nearby Backbencher hotel.
“Everyone was looking out the windows then people started rushing out of the Backbencher with buckets of water and stuff like that,” he said.
“I hadn’t actually seen what was happening but then when the smoke cleared there was a guy lying on the ground and he’d obviously been burned.”
Police would not comment on whether the man’s identity was known, or what his motives were.
Senior sergeant Glen Turner told reporters security footage would be examined as part of the investigation.
“Things like this are highly unusual and extremely unfortunate,” Turner added.
New Zealand is in the midst of a tightly contested election campaign in which conservative Prime Minister Bill English is battling a challenge from center-left rival Jacinda Ardern.
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Man sets himself on fire outside New Zealand parliament
Man sets himself on fire outside New Zealand parliament
Massive fire kills 6 in Karachi, destroys shopping center
KARACHI: Firefighters in Pakistan’s largest city were fighting to extinguish a massive blaze on Sunday that has killed six people and reduced parts of a shopping mall to rubble in Karachi’s historic downtown.
Videos showed flames rising from the building as firefighters labored through the night to stop the fire from spreading in the dense business district. Hundreds of people had gathered around the building, including distraught store owners whose businesses had turned to ash.
The fire erupted on Saturday night, with rescue services receiving a call at 10:38 p.m. (1738 GMT) reporting that ground floor shops at Gul Plaza were ablaze.
“When we arrived, the fire from the ground floor had spread to the upper floors, and almost the entire building was already engulfed in flames,” Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassanul Haseeb Khan told Reuters.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said six bodies had been brought to Karachi’s Civil Hospital and 11 people who had been injured, adding that police were “invoking mass disaster protocols.”
Images of the mall’s interior revealed the charred remains of stores and a bright orange glow as flames continued to rise throughout the building.
Local media reported that parts of the building had started to collapse and rescue officials feared the whole structure could come down.
Videos showed flames rising from the building as firefighters labored through the night to stop the fire from spreading in the dense business district. Hundreds of people had gathered around the building, including distraught store owners whose businesses had turned to ash.
The fire erupted on Saturday night, with rescue services receiving a call at 10:38 p.m. (1738 GMT) reporting that ground floor shops at Gul Plaza were ablaze.
“When we arrived, the fire from the ground floor had spread to the upper floors, and almost the entire building was already engulfed in flames,” Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassanul Haseeb Khan told Reuters.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said six bodies had been brought to Karachi’s Civil Hospital and 11 people who had been injured, adding that police were “invoking mass disaster protocols.”
Images of the mall’s interior revealed the charred remains of stores and a bright orange glow as flames continued to rise throughout the building.
Local media reported that parts of the building had started to collapse and rescue officials feared the whole structure could come down.
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