The young man with burns who was transported by a helicopter from Ocnița to Chisinau fell asleep with the smoldering cigarette in an annex to the house. The cigarette fell on a container that was allegedly with gasoline and the flames spread to the man’s clothes, Svetlana Talpă, press officer of the Ocnița Police Inspectorate, has told IPN

The man is 25 and is from Lipnic village of Ocnița district. He lives together with his mother and sister, who woke up when they heard the explosion. When they saw the young man on fire, they splashed him with water.

With burns on 40% of the body, the man was admitted to the Ocnița District Hospital from where he was taken to Chisinau by a helicopter. This is the first air-medical operation performed by SMURD Romania for Moldovan citizens so far this year.