A woman on a tram in Germany suffered life-threatening injuries after she was covered with gasoline and set on fire by an unknown attacker in the small city of Gera.
At around 10 am local time, a 46-year-old woman was approached by an unknown assailant, who poured gasoline over her and set her on fire while on the Gera tram in eastern Thuringia.
Immediately after the woman was set ablaze, fellow passengers pressed the emergency stop button on the tram, police spokeswoman Katja Ridder said per Bild.
However, the attacker could flee the scene because the tram’s emergency stop function also opened all of the train doors.
The tram driver quickly grabbed a fire extinguisher and used it to put out the fire engulfing the woman. She received medical attention on the scene before being flown by helicopter to a nearby hospital. She remains in a life-threatening condition.
Thuringian police have launched a major search operation for the suspect in the city of Gera and the surrounding area, but at the time of this reporting, they have not identified the alleged arsonist by name.
This story is developing…