Woman dies in fire in NYC subway

A suspect has been arrested in New York in connection with the death of a woman who was set on fire on a subway train in Brooklyn.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called Sunday’s incident “one of the most despicable crimes that one person can commit against another human being.”

They said the woman was sleeping on a parked F train bound for Brooklyn when a suspect approached her, who set her clothes on fire with a lighter.

The victim died at the scene, he said, adding that the suspect was taken into custody after being detained on another metro train.

Police said the woman, who has not been named, was sleeping in a subway car at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn at about 07:30 local time (12:30 GMT) when a man approached her.

Police said there was no conversation prior to the attack and they did not believe the two men knew each other.

As soon as the police officers patrolling the station ran to extinguish the fire, the man got off the train.

“They saw a man standing inside the train carriage completely engulfed in flames,” Ms Tish said.

Police are still trying to identify the victim and the motive for the attack.