Austrian Man Saws Off His Own Foot To Avoid Work

An unemployed Austrian man has sawed off his left foot, apparently to avoid being found fit enough to go back to work.

Police said the "desperate" 56-year-old man deliberately sliced it off above the ankle with a mechanical saw and threw it into an oven.

The man, from Mitterlabill in southern Austria, then hobbled into his garage and called an ambulance.

He sliced his foot off just a few hours before he was due to have a health check with the labour department on whether he was fit to work, Austrian broadcaster ORF reported.

When police arrived, the man was still conscious but had lost a lot of blood, local police chief Franz Fasching said.

Emergency services "looked in the oven and were able to recover the foot," Mr Fasching said.

"The foot was taken the hospital but it was so badly burned that it cannot be sewn back on."

The man was flown to hospital in Graz, where he was said to be in a stable condition. Source