A 55-year-old man doused himself with gasoline and then set himself on fire on Friday outside a Piraeus bank branch in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.

While carrying out the horrifying act, the unnamed man was heard to shout out that he was in debt. Police immediately used fire extinguishers to put out the blaze. He was later hospitalized with chest burns.

According to police, this is not the first time the man tried to harm himself in such a way. He had set himself on fire and suffered burns 15 months ago, after complaining he could not pay back the debts from his failed business, AP reported.

Surviving on international rescue loans, Greece is in its third year of recession. Due to extreme cost-cutting measures, the country is facing a host of business failures and record unemployment.

In May last year, Greece was given €110billion of bailout loans. But the debt-plagued country now needs another €109billion in order to get itself out of the economic crisis.

Meanwhile, UK chancellor George Osborne has appealed to European leaders to expand the powers of the eurozone bailout fund before time runs out.