MADRID -- A Spanish official says a man has died after setting himself on fire in his garage and Spanish media say the man had just lost his job.
A spokesman for the National Emergency Service said a woman called early Friday saying that smoke was pouring out of a garage in the southeastern town of Ribarroja del Turia.
When ambulances, police and firefighters arrived they found the man ablaze inside and could do nothing to save him. He was later identified as the 59-year-old owner of the garage, the spokesman said on condition of anonymity in keeping with service rules.
Newspapers reported that the man, identified as Felix S.M., was a farm worker who was fired Thursday.
Unemployment in Spain is nearly 23 percent, the highest in the 17-nation Eurozone.
Associated Press