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HONG KONG – A number of protesters in Hong Kong have accidently caught fire after throwing petrol bombs and molotov cocktails at police and security forces.

Terrible scenes have been captured on video and mobile phones of demonstrators engulfed in flames, with other protesters desperately trying to extinguish the flames and help their fellow protesters.

There has been increasing concern at the tactics adopted by some protesters, particularly those from student bodies, that have become increasingly violent.

On Tuesday the scenes became chaotic as some protesters fell victim to their own violence.

“One video appears to show a protester enveloped in flames, after a petrol bomb misfired,” RT reported. “The activist falls to the ground as bystanders scream. Protesters rush to his aid as they try to put out the flames using umbrellas.”

“Another graphic video shows a demonstrator throwing a petrol bomb at a building, only for the flames to fall on a fellow activist standing nearby. Covered in flames, the activist runs away as umbrella-wielding comrades scramble to help him.”

“A similar mishap involving Molotov cocktails was captured on video during a standoff between protesters and police. Manning an improvised barricade, the clip appears to show flames from a petrol bomb landing directly on a group of demonstrators. Several people are seen trying to escape the flames as the group abandon their post and flee the scene,” the RT report said.

The city is reeling from increasingly violent anti-China protests that began six months ago. Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam has condemned the demonstrators as “the people’s enemy” who are “relentlessly destroying society.” A days-long clash between activists and police at the Polytechnic University ended on Tuesday with more than 400 arrests.

(Photo credit: Felix Wong / South China Morning Post).