Police in London are appealing for information after a pensioner burst into flames while walking in the middle of the street.
Seventy-year-old John Nolan, a retired construction worker originally from County Mayo, Ireland, died on 17 September near his home in Haringey, the Independent reports.
Emergency services were called after members of the public reported a 'man ablaze'. Shocked local residents attempted to put out the flames while they waited for medics to arrive, but the fire was not fully extinguished until firefighters were at the scene.
Police are appealing for witnesses. Credit: PA
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The man was rushed to a specialist hospital by air ambulance where he was treated for severe burns, but later died. An inquest is due to be opened in March.
Now police are hoping to gather more information surrounding the death.
The cause of the fire was investigated by the London Fire Brigade, which found that there was no evidence of 'an accelerant', such as petrol, that would have spread the flames. Police are currently treating the death as unexplained.
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The investigating officer, PC Damien Ait-Amer, said: "We have spoken with a number of witnesses who saw Mr Nolan ablaze, but we have yet to establish how the fire started.
"Mr Nolan was a well-liked member of the community and none of our enquiries so far have indicated that he had been involved in a dispute of any sort.
"Nor does any account given by witnesses suggest that he had been in contact with another person at the time of the fire."
His nephew Kevin Byrne told TheJournal.ie: "We just don't know what happened to him and we'd like to know.
Credit: Metropolitan Police
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"He suffered from ill-health but he was just a very content man. He would walk about with his dog and he knew everyone up and down the road. The would look out for him."
His sister Mary Caffery told the Hampstead and Highgate Express: "It's unbearable, an awful thing to happen. It looks very suspicious to me.
"We're very concerned and would like to get to the bottom of what happened."
Witnesses can contact the police by calling 101.
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Source: The Independent; Hampstead and Highgate Express; The Journal ie
Featured Image Credit: Metropolitan Police