A Katherine man has suffered severe burns after allegedly setting himself on fire in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, St John Ambulance said.

Around 1:00am this morning, paramedics responded to the case of self-immolation where a man is alleged to have poured petrol over his body and set himself alight.

“Paramedics attended and along with police did find the man with severe burns and transported him to the hospital,” St John Ambulance Operations Manager Craig Garraway told ABC Radio.

Mr Garraway said the man was transported to the Royal Darwin Hospital via CareFlight for further treatment.

He did not give details on the current condition of the man, nor any information about why the man would allegedly light himself on fire.

“Not a very pleasant incident,” he said.