July 3 (UPI) -- A man, identified by Tibetan exile media as a Tibetan activist, died Thursday evening after setting himself on fire outside the United Nations' headquarters in Manhattan, authorities said.
Video of the incident posted online shows the man dressed in robes and holding a Tibetan flag, which he places on a pole that keeps it erect, before he is seen flicking an apparent fire starter and becoming engulfed in flames.
Responders arrived with extinguishers more than a minute later and putting out the fire. The man had crumpled to the ground.
Voice of Tibet, a Tibetan exile media outlet, identified the man as Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen who self-immolated after "a live appeal for Tibetan independence and unity."
Gonpo Dhundup, a Tibetan exile parliamentarian, said in an online statement that the man made "the ultimate sacrifice through self-immolation to protest China's occupation of Tibet and its repression of the Tibetan people."
