Story By: Ernest Bio Bogore, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

A woman in France doused herself in fuel at a petrol station before setting herself alight and then driving six miles badly burned and in agony to a friend’s house for help.

The incident took place at a petrol station in the commune of Girancourt in the north-eastern French department of Vosges when the unnamed woman, said to be in her 40s, doused herself in petrol at a fuel pump, according to local media.

Reports said that she then set fire to her clothes with a lighter, but then managed to extinguish the flames by removing her clothes.

Badly injured, and with 45 percent burns on her body, the middle-aged woman then jumped in her car and drove 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) to a friend’s home in the nearby commune of Epinal.

Local media said that firefighters were called to the service station which was unaffected by the woman’s alleged actions.

Meanwhile, the burned woman made it to her friend’s house, who immediately called the emergency services.

Paramedics arrived at the property and took the burns victim to a nearby hospital for treatment.

According to local media, she was transferred to a burns unit in the city of Metz due to the seriousness of her injuries.

Reports said that around 45 percent of her body, mostly her neck, chest and arms, were burned in the incident.

It is currently unclear why the woman allegedly set herself alight in the petrol station as the investigation continues.

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