Man in debt sets self on fire
A Thessaloniki man believed to be severely in debt entered a branch of Piraeus Bank in the city center yesterday afternoon, doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire. Bank staff managed to remove the 55-year-old man from the premises and onto the street where firefighters extinguished his blazing clothes. The firemen then entered the bank branch and doused a small fire that had started inside. It appears that there had been no customers inside the bank at the time. The man was transferred to the city’s Ippokrateio hospital for medical attention though witnesses said he bore no evidence of burns. Staff at the bank told police that the man had an account at the bank and is believed to have large debts. It was unclear whether the man had aimed to commit suicide or to draw attention to his plight.
