Man critical after setting himself on fire at petrol station

Emergency servives at the petrol station in Tauranga, where a man set himself on fire. Photo / Brooke Frost / Supplied to Herald on Sunday

A man doused himself in petrol and set himself on fire at a petrol station in Tauranga this afternoon.

Police said the man was taken to hospital and was in an "extremely critical" condition.

A fire communications spokesman said the man had set himself alight at a Z Energy petrol station at the intersection of Cameron St and Eleventh Ave - just one block from a voting station.

Electoral commission spokeswoman Stasi Turmbull said there did appears not appear to be any connection between this incident and voting.

"The incident has not had any effect on voting stations in Tauranga and voting is proceeding as normal," she said.

Z petrol station manager Dave Gillies said the man had bought gas from his outlet just before the incident.

"We are not sure what happened after that," he said.

Sara De Grey, who works at the nearby Cheesecake shop, said: "A customer came in shortly after it happened and said there was a man who was badly burnt outside of the petrol station. By the time we got to the scene, the man was already in the ambulance."