A monk died after setting himself on fire in a Tibetan community in China's western Sichuan province — at least the second self-immolation death in the region this year — according to state media reports on Monday.

Tsongwon Norbu (29), a monk at the Nyitso monastery in Dawu, a Sichuan county home to many Tibetans, set himself on fire on Monday afternoon, said the local government in a statement reported by the state-run Xinhua news agency. Xinhua said “it was unclear why he had burnt himself”, and that the local government had launched an investigation. Overseas Tibetan groups, citing unnamed witnesses, said the monk had called for the return of the exiled religious leader, the Dalai Lama, before dousing himself in petrol.

A hotel receptionist near the scene of his death said the monk had been distributing leaflets. “I saw a monk lying on the ground and burning, he died right in front of the county government building,” the receptionist told the AFP news agency.

Monday's was the second self-immolation death in Sichuan this year. In March, Rigzin Phuntsog, a 16-year-old monk, died at the famous Kirti Monastery in Aba, which is north of Dawu, sparking protests by Tibetan monks.

State media had said then that the local government had put in place a legal education programme at Aba because of the “illegal activities” of its monks. Overseas rights groups said the protests had led to the detention of dozens of monks and tightening of security in the region. Some travel agencies reported that the government had also put in place a ban on foreigners travelling to Aba in the wake of the unrest sparked by the monk's death.

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