Man sets self on fire at Groningen shelter

A man set himself on fire in front of a bed-bath-and-bread shelter for asylum seekers on Helsinkistraat in Groningen on Thursday. The man, a failed asylum seeker, was rushed to hospital with burns, Dagblad van het Noorden reports.

The shelter, located in a former F1 hotel, is managed by the Inlia Foundation. It offers shelter to asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies and have to prepare for their return to their home country, and asylum seekers awaiting a decision in their procedure.

The man who set himself on fire, lived in the shelter, Inlia director John van Tilborg sadi to the newspaper. "He is a disturbed guest of the hotel. It has also been known for some time that the man is disturbed." Inlia was helping the man prepare for his return to his home country. What country that is, Van Tilborg would not say. "That is too private, but something like this is not easy."