Man accused of setting himself on fire in Australian bank

A 21-year-old man accused of injuring himself and 26 other people by setting himself on fire in a Melbourne bank has been identified as a Burmese asylum seeker.

The suspect and five bystanders were taken to hospital with serious burns following the fire at a Commonwealth Bank of Australia branch in the suburb of Springvale yesterday morning after the man allegedly doused himself in petrol.

Another 21 people were taken to hospital with breathing problems.

The suspect remains under police guard.

According to Pamela Curr, who recently retired from the non-government Asylum Seeker Resource Centre outside Melbourne, the man came to Australia by boat in 2013 with no family members and had been waiting to be granted a refugee visa.