A New York City Police Department spokesman said police responding to an emergency call made around 6:30 p.m.
He was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said, adding that an investigation was ongoing.
Voice of Tibet, a media outlet of exiled Tibetans, said Tibetan activist Logba Rangzen “self-immolated outside the U.N. headquarters in New York after a live appeal for Tibetan independence and unity.”.
He was an Uber driver and went to the scene with a Tibetan flag, local news site amNewYork reported.
The website quoted fellow Uber driver Lobsang Paljor as saying he knew Rangzen from gatherings in the Tibetan community.
Tibetans have also previously committed acts of self-immolation in protest against Beijing’s policies in Tibet and nearby regions with large Tibetan populations.
International human rights groups and exiles, however, have routinely condemned what they call China’s oppressive rule in Tibetan areas. »