Olympic Torchbearer Catches Fire

(YouTube link)

In Mother Russia, Olympic torch ignites YOU! This mishap took place in Siberia on Wednesday.

A clip posted on YouTube by the Russian site Lifenews shows former Olympic bobsledder Pyotr Makarchuk parading the torch through a crowd in the city of Abakan when flames suddenly leap from the left shoulder and upper arm of his jacket.

Escorts immediately put out the flames and Makarchuk was not injured, said Roman Osin, spokesman for the Russian Sochi 2014 torch relay, who witnessed the incident on Wednesday.

The flames were caused by drops of liquid gas that fell on Makarchuk's jacket, he said.

The Winter Games in Sochi don't start until February 7th, but the torch is on its longest pre-Olympic relay ever, a journey of 40,000 miles. The flame has gone out dozens of times already, but this is the first public news of a torchbearer catching fire.