Protester dies after setting himself on fire in heart of New York City

Horrifying social media footage showed the moment the protester set his clothes alight | X/SANGPO49
The man has now been named as Logba Rangzen, who self-immolated in an appeal for 'independence and unity'
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A protestor draped in a Tibetan flag has died after setting himself on fire nex to the UN headquarters in New York City.
CCTV footage from Thursday evening showed the man placing the flag on the pavement at East 43rd Street at around 7pm, before setting himself ablaze.
In a later update, police said he died from severe burns.
He was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said - though did not name him.
A media outlet of exiled Tibetans, meanwhile, identified the protester as Logba Rangzen, who self-immolated in an appeal for "independence and unity".
Mr Rangzen was an Uber driver, according to local outlet amNewYork.
The website quoted fellow Uber driver Lobsang Paljor as saying he knew the protester from gatherings in the Tibetan community.
Mr Paljor told the site Mr Rangzen "was enraged by the restrictions the Chinese Government had placed on his countrymen".
A police investigation is now ongoing into his tragic death.
The flag of Tibet - an autonomous region located in western China - remained at the scene for an hour after the ordeal as officers from the New York Police Department (NYPD) raced to try and save him.
Officers were later seen carrying away a sign which read "China out of Tibet" from the scene.

The self-immolation took place just a stone's throw away from the UN headquarters in New York City
|GETTY
Multiple acts of self-immolation for political purposes have taken place on the streets of America in recent years.
In February 2024, US military service member Aaron Bushnell, 25, died after he set himself on fire in an apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza.
In horrifying footage shared on social media, the airman could be seen setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington
“I will no longer be complicit in genocide,” said the man, wearing military fatigues, in a video he broadcasted live over the internet.
He then doused himself in a clear liquid and set himself on fire, screaming “Free Palestine”.
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Officers from the New York Police Department raced to the scene
|GETTY
A copycat attempt was made outside the White House just four months after Mr Bushnell's death.
Samuel Mena Jr, who identified himself as a journalist, was captured on video setting his left arm on fire, lifting it into the air, and screaming in pain before bystanders and police rushed to help him.
Bystanders doused him with water and beat the flame out with towels.
Prior to the act of protest, Mr Mena wrote on social media: "I will be streaming live from the White House exterior on Instagram live in 30 minutes.
"The first 30 minutes will be spent doing tech trouble shooting, and I will give a speech in an hour from now."

Aaron Bushnell, 25, died after he set himself on fire in an apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza
|GETTY
Several hours before that, he sent a tweet saying “End settler colonialism.”
Tibetan independence activists have frequently demonstrated in front of the UN headquarters in recent years.
In September, a large group gathered outside the building armed with placards which read: "Free Tibet, China out, China out of Tibet."
At the protest, Tashi Tundup from the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of New York and New Jersey said: "We are here to request the UN representatives, the world leaders, to support Tibet, for Tibetan independence."
China has occupied the Central Asian region since 1950 following the signing of the Seventeen Point Agreement.
But Tibet has maintained a distinct cultural identity for centuries, with the Dalai Lama serving as the region's spiritual and temporal leader.





