Man sets himself on fire on Amsterdam's central Dam Square
A man set himself and his car on fire on Amsterdam's Dam Square on Thursday, police said.
Images posted by local media and online show a small red car pulling up to the National Monument located near the square's south-eastern corner.
A small explosion followed shortly afterwards, with flames shooting out of the vehicle.
'Camera images show that the fire on the Dam was sparked after an explosion in a car,' Amsterdam police confirmed on X.
'At that moment, there were a lot of people close to the vehicle, but as far as we know, no bystanders were injured,' police added.
Passers-by can be seen scattering, with several police vehicles quickly surrounding the burning car.
The fire was believed to have been deliberately started by the car's driver 'who was injured in the process', police said.
The driver stumbled from the car with his clothes on fire, quickly extinguished by police.
The injured man was taken to hospital and was under police arrest.
He was later identified as a 50-year-old Dutch national from the North Netherlands province. Police did not release his name.
'Detectives are keeping all scenarios open, but have strong suspicions that the man wanted to take his own life. He is suspected of arson,' the police said.
An AFP reporter on the scene saw police and explosives officers probing the burnt-out vehicle, while the square in the heart of the city remained largely cordoned off.
A witness told the local AT5 television station she heard a 'small pop, not even a real explosion' on the square and saw people running away.
'Then suddenly there was a loud bang and lots of black smoke.'
'After that, I saw the man. Suddenly he was on fire. It was unreal,' she said.
The latest incident came days after a Ukrainian man last week stabbed five people at random in the streets around the square, located in the heart of the Dutch capital.
Dutch prosecutors said on Tuesday the man 'acted with terrorist' intent.
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
I deserted my unit in Ukraine. Now I'm going back to war
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Vladimir Putin's forces outnumber the Ukrainian military by a factor of at least two to one, with around 2.35 million soldiers to 900,000. According to Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, Moscow is now recruiting up to 50,000 men a month. With roughly a quarter of the population, Ukraine manages around 27,000. In response, the Ukrainian parliament passed a law allowing deserters to avoid punishment if they agreed to rejoin the army. Initially, they were given a deadline of Jan 1 2025. That was extended to the end of March, and then again recently to Aug 30. More than 100,000 cases of absconding have been registered with the prosecutor's office since the war began, with almost two-thirds in the last year. Kyiv cannot afford to jail so many able-bodied men – let alone shoot them, as Putin's forces have done. 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Time Magazine
3 hours ago
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