A 50-year-old Cartagena man died this Tuesday afternoon, February 13, on Calle Santa Florentina in the city when he set himself on fire. The event occurred at around 6pm near the old Centro bookshop, in front of a café and a supermarket and in full view of numerous witnesses who were passing through the busy area at the time.

As a result of the horrific scenes they witnessed, several of them had to be seen to by healthcare professionals. A 14-year-old girl who was walking with her father, who helped to put the fire out, was taken to a hospital after suffering from a panic attack, while a middle-aged woman who was in the café opposite was seen to by psychologists.

Several of these eye witnesses assured that the man did not say a single word before he doused himself with a flammable liquid from a couple of plastic bottles and set himself on fire. He had apparently walked up and down the street several times until he finally decided on a place to set himself on fire, at which point he walked painfully for a while before falling to the floor.

Several National Police patrols that were in the area, along with firefighters and Civil Protection personnel, arrived at the scene while the man was still alive. After more than half an hour trying to revive him, a doctor finally certified his death around 6.40pm.

In a video recorded by a passerby you can see how several people tried to help him by trying to put out the flames with jackets and coats. Eventually, someone who works in a business nearby put out the fire using a fire extinguisher. The victim was left lying on the sidewalk and several people immediately came to help him.

The sad and shocking incident took place not far from the official Carnival tent where the ending celebrations for this year’s Carnival was being held. The Don Carnal parade was delayed out of respect for the deceased and had to change its itinerary to avoid it coinciding with the removal of the body. This order was given by the Councillor for Citizen Security, José Ramón Llorca, who remained at the scene the entire time.

The body, now shielded behind two screens, remained on the street waiting for the coroner on duty and the judicial commission before it could be taken away, which happened at around 7.30pm. The street was opened to traffic again around 8pm, after municipal cleaning workers removed the remains of the flammable material and the burned clothes of the deceased.