Several videos have surfaced on social media of a person engulfed in flames on an urban street in Tibet.
Sources, including the exile Tibetan administration’s website are reporting that the incident took place around 5PM local time in Machu county, located in today's Gansu province.
In one of the videos, a nearby woman is heard praying to the Dalai Lama.
Another clip shows police arriving at the scene and taking away the charred body without any medical personnel or equipment in sight.
The identity of the person is not known at present.
This brings the number of people who carried out self-immolations in Tibet since February 2009 to 145.
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(picture courtesy:tibettimes.com)
Update December 9, 2016:
Tashi Rabten, a former monk, who hails from Washul Village, Troko Medma township of Machu district was the person who self-immolated yesterday around 5pm local time in Machu.
According to sources, Rabten was the first cousin of Tsering Kyi, a student from Machu who self immolated in 2012 to protest China's repressive policies towards Tibetans. Kyi and Rabten's fathers are said to be brothers.
Tashi Rabten has succumbed to his burns and leaves behind his wife and two children, who are currently placed under detention for requesting the authorities to return the body to perform proper cremation following the Tibetan Buddhist ritual.