A Tibetan protester filmed himself as he fatally set himself on fire outside the United Nations building in New York City on Thursday.
Palden Lobsang, 52, shared the video, capturing him dressed in full monastic garb as he walked to the street corner in Midtown Manhattan, carrying a Tibetan flag and casually self-immolating, sources told the Daily Mail.
He then stood in the middle of the intersection, throwing flyers that read ‘China out of Tibet’ and ‘Free Tibet’ before cars passed him by.
After about a minute, Lobsang could be seen collapsing to the ground still on fire, and soon two security officers could be seen rushing to the intersection to extinguish the fire.
Meanwhile, a woman who stumbled onto the scene appeared to have called 911, and officers arrived about five minutes after the video began, with a fire truck arriving roughly two minutes later.
Lobsang was then pronounced dead at 7.04pm, sources said.
The video ended with officers taking the device he was filming on into custody.
But the Tibetan flag he had planted into the ground remained there for about an hour as officers investigated the scene, the New York Post reports.
Palden Lobsang, 52, filmed himself as he set himself on fire outside the United Nations building in New York City on Thursday
Lobsang, who has lived in the United States for about 20 years, had earlier shared pictures of himself sitting outside the Cipriani event venue carrying New York City tourism bags
Lobsang, who has lived in the United States for about 20 years, had earlier shared pictures of himself sitting outside the Cipriani event venue carrying New York City tourism bags.
He also shared online the flyers he would later throw into the busy intersection.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
