A young boy who set himself on fire in front of several other children appeared to survive after falling backwards into the water.
A man named Jebediah Lincler posted a video on Twitter about the boy, apparently his cousin, dousing himself in gasoline and setting himself on fire just before throwing himself off the dock into the water below.
Several children, who are not seen on camera, cheered the boy on during the dangerous stunt while someone recorded him.
Once the boy was on fire, children started screaming while he was still in the air.
Fortunately, the fire was extinguished by the water, and after the young daredevil emerged from under the water, a girl asked him, “Are you still alive?”
A boy doused himself with gasoline from a gallon can held by another child not seen on camera
Children cheered the boy covered in gasoline as he climbed the railing before doing a backflip
According to the Los Angeles Timesskin burns caused by setting yourself on fire are 'excruciatingly painful'.
When there is a severe burn to the skin, it can result in leakage of body water, which can lead to death from shock.
Men or women between the ages of 20 and 50 have a better chance of recovery, depending on the severity of the burn.
The boy who set himself on fire limited his exposure to the flames to his upper body.
Because he was wearing nothing but swimming trunks, if he had doused himself further, the back flipper would have been covered in hotter fire and more severe burns.
The boy set himself on fire shortly after he started standing on the railing. He did this without hesitation after taking a quick deep breath
It is unclear whether the children expected the boy to set himself on fire, and one girl asked the boy if he was still alive after he emerged from the water
Instagram users either loved what he did or thought it was an incredibly bad decision. The boy who set himself on fire appeared to be okay after emerging from the water
One Instagram user thought the video was “the dumbest s*** he's seen in a while.”
“I should have said something cool like turn on a flame or something,” another Instagram user wrote.
“This is the dumbest mess… how do people let themselves be used like this,” another commenter wrote.