Burnt teen still critical

A Tauranga teenager is fighting for his life with burns to half his body after being doused with an accelerant.

The 16-year-old is a critical condition in Auckland's Middlemore Hospital where doctors put him into a coma to give him the best chance of survival.

Paramedics were called to a house in suburban Greerton about 3am yesterday, where the teenager was reported to be on fire. His family had extinguished the flames when paramedics arrived.

He was initially taken to Tauranga Hospital before being airlifted to the burns critical care unit at Middlemore.

Detective Sergeant Darryl Brazier said they were still investigating how he came to be doused with an accelerant but they were not looking for anyone else.

The boy's sister told the Bay of Plenty Times that he came home upset at 2am after being out with friends.

"He was angry about something."

The family was later by awakened by him yelling and found him on fire.

- NZPA