Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

A health-conscious man has been badly burned after he sterilised his face and neck with alcohol which then caught fire.

The 37 year-old man Xiao Zhang works at a polyester factory in the Chinese city of Hangzhou which is currently closed because of the corona virus outbreak.

However, he is one of the company’s key maintenance staff who still has to go in and make sure that the factory is properly maintained ready to start up again once quarantine is lifted.

As with many people he was regularly disinfecting himself after being told that high temperatures or a 75 percent alcohol can kill the virus.

But after using the alcohol-based disinfectant, he apparently got to near a heating stove and found himself suddenly engulfed in flames.

As college raised the alarm when he was rushed to hospital where doctors confirmed that 15 percent of his body had suffered second and third burns. The injuries on his neck with the most severe, with the fire burning so deeply that it had even damaged his respiratory tract.

Doctors had to perform an emergency tracheotomy in order to open a direct tube into his airway so he could breathe and to tackle the problem of vomiting.

Medics said that is in his hands were also severe which may have only limited functionality and will certainly need extensive skin grafts if he recovers.

They said he used to much of the alcohol-based disinfectant, and warn people that did use this to avoid anything like sparks that might come from using electrical devices or be anywhere near open flames.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.