Moroccan Asylum Seeker Sets Himself on Fire on German Street

A Moroccan man who was denied political asylum in Germany suffered severe burns when he doused himself in petrol and set himself on fire in front of shocked passers-by, police said Sunday.

The 36-year-old man had announced his suicide attempt in a phone call to police, ahead of his scheduled deportation Monday by German authorities.

When he set himself ablaze Saturday evening, people on the street tried to help douse the flames before police put them out with a fire extinguisher.

The man was taken with severe burns to a hospital in the town of Lingen, Lower Saxony state, and then moved by helicopter to a specialist burns unit in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Germany, Europe's most populous country, has become Europe's top destination for asylum seekers. Last year, asylum requests rose 60 percent to more than 200,000, and they are expect to increase further this year.