‘Human fireball’ soldier who survived petrol bomb in Iraq reveals incredible 20-year journey back to health
A WAR hero who became a “human fireball” after being petrol-bombed in Iraq has required 20 years of operations.
British army private Karl Hinett was just 18 when the tank he was travelling in was set ablaze and he was left trapped inside.
He suffered extreme burns to 37 percent of his skin which left him with lifelong injuries.
Karl, now 37 and a dad to an eight-year-old son, underwent his latest skin graft just months ago.
He describes the endless medical procedures he still has to endure as “vicious” but said they are something he accepts.
He told the MailOnline: “At the end of the day, I still have a life, which I can live and make the most of and if enduring surgery is what I have to go through then, fine, so be it.”
After the horror incident in 2005, a heart-stopping image of Karl rolling down the front of the tank covered in flames was seen across the world.
Along with two other soldiers, he had undertaken a mission to free a pair of undercover soldiers from a jail in Basra.
His tank was then petrol-bombed by rioters.
Karl froze with panic for 15 seconds before gripping the scolding edges of the turret and dragging himself across the carrier’s hot metal.
The other four soldiers escaped serious injuries but Karl endured third-degree burns.
Referring to his repeat surgeries – the last of which was a year ago – he said his burns injuries means the skin “contracts and tightens” as the scars mature.
It means he has to have repeat ops, adding: “It’s just a vicious cycle.”
His face and hands are the worst affected parts of his body.
Recalling the traumatic incident, Karl said despite being warned of the dangers of the operation he believed “it would never happen” to him.
He went on to say that because it was so early in Iraq deployment, there was little experience to draw from.
However, he said it would be “impossible” to prepare someone for the trauma of being set on fire.
Describing his escape, Karl said: “All senses and control were stripped from me when I was on fire.”
‘I NEEDED TO GET OUT’
Around 15 seconds into the ordeal the pain brought him back to his senses and he “realised I needed to get out to save myself”.
Karl said he still struggles mentally but his young son helps him to “switch” his mind.
Following in the footsteps of his grandmother, who also served in the military, the dad joined the Army as an infantry soldier in the Staffordshire Regiment in 2004, aged 17.
Karl’s recovery has culminated in preparing to compete in an upcoming 500km race across the Arctic in collaboration with military charity SSAFA.