A despairing asylum seeker set himself on fire at the Zaandam asylum shelter on Wednesday evening while shouting about his children. He was saved from life-threatening injury by other residents of the camp in the Burgemeester in't Veldpark, Noordhollands Dagblad reports.

According to the newspaper, the asylum seeker is a man from Aleppoin Syria. He was shouting that he wanted to see his children, who are still stuck in Turkey. The asylum seeker was taking to the hospital by ambulance.

The man is part of a group of asylum seekers who have been living in the Zaandam asylum tent camp for five months. According to the newspaper, on their first day in the camp the COA told them that the next phase in the asylum procedure will happen within three months.

A number of asylum seekers in the camp indicated that they will be starting a hunger strike. They want the asylum procedure to move forward.

Over the weekend an Iraqi asylum seeker in the center in Ter Apel hung himself while talking on the phone with his wife. The 30 year old man lost hope when he heard that it will take another six months before his asylum procedure starts and he could not get his passport back to return to his wife and three children, still in Iraq.