Sydney -
A Sri Lankan asylum-seeker was in a Sydney hospital as a result of setting himself alight after his application to stay in Australia was rejected, news reports said on Friday.
The man doused himself with petrol at his shipyard workplace on Thursday.
Tamil Refugee Council spokesman Trevor Grant told national broadcaster ABC the young man had burns to most of his body.
“There is some hope that he may survive,” Grant said.
The Immigration Department said the man arrived in Australia in 2012 and was released from immigration detention in October to await the outcome of his claim for asylum.
His application was rejected last year, along with his appeal against the decision. - Sapa-dpa