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WASHINGTON: Police in New York City said on Thursday a man died from severe burns near the United Nations headquarters, and activists and a media outlet of exiled Tibetans identified him as a Tibetan who set himself on fire in an appeal for independence.
A New York City Police Department spokesman said police, responding to an emergency call made around 6:30pm ET (2230 GMT) on Thursday, found the man badly burned.
He was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said, adding an investigation was ongoing. Police did not name the man and did not provide any potential motive for his action.
Voice of Tibet, a media outlet of exiled Tibetans, said Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen “self-immolated outside the UN headquarters in New York after a live appeal for Tibetan independence and unity”.
