Italy: Man sets himself on fire

Italy: Man sets himself on fire outside of tax agency

http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/English/Security/Italy-Man-sets-himself-on-fire-outside-of-tax-agency_313140428482.html

last update: March 28, 14:42

Bologna, 28 March (AKI) - A man is in serious condition after setting himself on fire in his car parked outside the Italian tax collection agency in Bologna on Wednesday in an apparent suicide attempt because of financial difficulties.

A helicopter ambulance flew him to a Parma hospital where he we was admitted to a burn unit. An official from the hospital said the man is serious condition with burns over almost 100 percent of his body.

Before setting himself aflame, the 58-year-old man wrote three suicide notes. In one of his missives he expressed the desire to take his own life, saying he has paid his taxes and is being mistreated by the tax authorities.

Italy, the European Union's fourth-biggest economy, is mired in recession with unemployment at its highest level in eight years.