A group of protesters from the indigenous Wichis community in north-west Argentina clashed with riot police officers, setting two of the officers on fire, as they tried to take over the installations of a company, local media reported.
The early morning attack occurred when protesters – armed with sticks, stones and Molotov cocktails – turned up at a company in the Salta province, located 31 miles from the town of Morillo, according to local media.
Mobile phone footage, released by the media, recorded the moment when the riot policemen came face-to-face with the protesters. One of the protesters is seen carrying a lit torch in one hand and a bottle of fuel in the other.
The situation quickly escalated when one of the injured riot policemen is seen hitting a protester with a baton, before he is doused in petrol and set on fire. Rubber bullets can then be heard ringing in the air, as the police fired shots to try to disperse the crowd.
The policemen, who suffered significant burns to their bodies, were taken to a hospital in the city Tartagal, in the north of the province of Salta, according to local media.
