Hong Kong (CNN) -- Two young men set themselves on fire in Lhasa Sunday outside the Jokhang Temple, the holiest site in the Tibetan capital and a popular tourist destination, Chinese state media reported Monday.
It's the first time anyone has self-immolated inside the Tibetan capital, and only the second time the act has been carried out inside the Tibetan Autonomous Region, according to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).
"They seem to be young and one of them is believed to have died, because flames have consumed his whole body. We don't have any information about the status of the other person," said Tsering Tsomo, executive director of the TCHRD.
China's state news service named the two as Dargye, from Aba county in the Tibetan area of southwest China's Sichuan province, and Tobgye Tseten, from Xiahe county in a Tibetan community of the country's northwestern Gansu province.
Tobgye Tseten died and Dargye was seriously injured but in a stable condition and able to talk, according to Xinhua.
The news agency said that police on patrol put out the flames and took the men to hospital.
It's unclear how many Tibetans have set themselves alight in recent months. Some media reports claim there have been more than 20 since March 2011, others say the figure is more than 30.
Self-immolation is a common form of protest for Tibetans who want genuine autonomy from China and accuse Beijing of repression.
