Beijing, Nov 3 (IANS) A nun died after she set herself on fire Thursday in China’s Sichuan province, authorities said.
Qiu Xiang from a nunnery in Dawu county of Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture set herself ablaze around 12.50 p.m. at a road crossing, reported Xinhua.
Qiu Xiang, about 35, was a native of Tongfoshan village.
Xinhua said it was unclear why she killed herself.
A probe has been launched.
Religious affairs officials Oct 18 had said that recent self-immolation attempts by Tibetan monks in southwest China appeared to have been instigated by a clique jockeying for power in the overseas Tibetan community headed by spiritual leader Dalai Lama.
Several Tibetan monks attemped self-immolation in Aba county of Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, this year. All of them were current or former monks of Kirti monastery.
In October, a man set himself on fire at midday near a market in Aba. Police extinguished the flames and sent him to a local hospital. The 20-year-old man had previously been a monk at Kirti monastery.
Kirti is a monastery of the Gelugpa, also known as the Yellow Hat sect. It is one of 42 monasteries in Aba county.
