Copenhagen police have managed to stop a desperate man from setting himself alight at the offices of the Refugee Appeals Board.

According to police, the man entered the office shortly after noon and complained that his application had been denied.

He then poured petrol over himself and threatened to light himself with a lighter he was carrying.

Office personnel were evacuated from the building as the fire brigade, ambulance service, police and a negotiating group were called in.

“Shortly after 1 p.m. we were told that police had managed to get the lighter away from him and a doctor is talking to him,” Police Press Coordinator Lars Christian Borg says.

Police asked for a Farsi interpreter, which would suggest that the man is Iranian, although the language is also widely spoken in Afghanistan.

No-one was injured in the incident, but the man has been taken to hospital to be attended to.

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