A middle-aged man who doused himself in petrol, lit a match and jumped into the River Dodder in west Dublin was being treated in hospital for burns and hypothermia, yesterday.
The incident happened after gardai were called to the scene of an accident involving a car which the man was driving, at Glenview roundabout, near Tallaght village, around mid night.
When the gardai arrived, they found that nobody was injured, but were told a man had taken a can of petrol from the boot of the car and run off in the direction of the Dodder.
When the gardai found him, they attempted to calm him, a spokesman said, but "he ignited himself and jumped into the river".
The water was about three to four ft deep because of heavy rain, and he was swept downstream. They lost sight of him and radioed for help.
More gardai were on standby at the Firhouse bridge in Knocklyon. They waded in and pulled the unconscious man out of the river.