BERLIN: German police said they are hunting a man who on Sunday doused a woman tram passenger with flammable liquid and set fire to her, causing critical wounds.
The 46-year-old woman was targeted as she was inside the tram in Gera, in eastern Germany.
“She was sprayed with flammable liquid and set alight by a man,“ police for the state of Thuringia said.
When other passengers pressed the emergency stop button, the perpetrator took advantage of the doors opening to flee.
The tram’s driver used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames, but the woman’s sustained life-threatening wounds and was taken by helicopter to hospital.
The police said patrols “are actively searching for the perpetrator”, who was not yet identified but wanted for attempted murder.
Detectives were working to determine whether the man and the woman knew each other, or if the crime was carried out randomly or for other reasons.
