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.<\/p>\n
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.\n<\/p>\n
Responders arrived with extinguishers more than a minute later and putting out the fire. The man had crumpled to the ground.<\/p>\n
Voice of Tibet, a Tibetan exile media outlet, identified<\/a> the man as Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen who self-immolated after “a live appeal for Tibetan independence and unity.”<\/p>\n Gonpo Dhundup, a Tibetan exile parliamentarian, said in an online statement<\/a> that the man made “the ultimate sacrifice through self-immolation to protest China’s occupation of Tibet and its repression of the Tibetan people.”<\/p>\n Rangzen was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to police, the New York Post<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n UPI has contacted the New York Police Department for comment.\n<\/p>\n China has controlled Tibet since 1951 and views the region<\/a> as having been an integral part of Chinese territory since ancient times. The Chinese Communist Party considers the Tibetan independence movement to be one of the so-called Five Poisons that threaten its territorial claims, along with Taiwanese independence and Chinese democracy movement.<\/p>\n The International Campaign for Tibet, a Washington, D.C.-based human rights group, called Rangzen “a tireless advocate for Tibet who devoted himself to peacefully raising awareness of the human crisis in Tibet.”<\/p>\n