This is the winning World Press Photo

amsterdam - A photo of a Venezuelan man who is on fire during violent protests against President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas has been voted the best photo of the year. Photographer Ronaldo Schemidt made the photo in his home country and is the winner of the World Press Photo 2018. Three Dutch photographers also received prizes at the prestigious photo competition.

The winning image shows the running 28-year-old José Víctor Salazar Balza with a mask on his face. Great flames come from his body. The photo was taken on 3 May 2017 during confrontations with the police. The man caught fire when a gas tank exploded. He survived the incident, but suffered first and second degree burns.

The jury praises Schemidt's 'classic' album, which works for the French press agency Agence France-Presse, for its energy and dynamism. 'The colors, the movement, and the composition are very good, it has power', according to jury chairman Magdalena Herrera. The photographer gets 10,000 euros.

In other categories of the photo competition, three Dutch people were praised this time. Kadir van Lohuizen (NOOR Images) won the first prize with his series Wasteland in the Environment category. He mapped out the waste flows in six world cities.