Woman 'spontaneously combusts' while sitting on park bench
A woman is fighting for her life in hospital after reportedly 'spontaneously combusting' while sitting on a park bench in Germany.
Witnesses said the woman appeared to be relaxing on a park bench in Flensburg when she burst into flames.
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The woman, originally from Mauritius, was rushed to a local hospital before being flown by air ambulance to a specialist burns unit in Lubeck, reports the Daily Mail.
Flensburg case prosecutor Stahlmann-Liebelt said investigators had not yet ruled out whether the woman had actually set herself on fire in a suicide attempt, reports the Mirror.
According to Wikipedia, spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is a term encompassing reported cases of the combustion of a living (or very recently deceased) human body without an apparent external source of ignition.
In addition to reported cases, examples of SHC appear in literature, and both types have been observed to share common characteristics regarding circumstances and remains of the victim.
Forensic investigations have attempted to analyse reported instances of SHC and have resulted in hypotheses regarding potential causes and mechanisms, including victim behaviour and habits, alcohol consumption and proximity to potential sources of ignition, as well as the behaviour of fires that consume melted fats.
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