A monk died after setting himself on fire Monday in a Tibetan community in southwest China's Sichuan Province, local authorities said.

Tsongwon Norbu, a monk at Nyitso Monastery in Dawu County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, set himself on fire at 12:40 p.m., the Dawu county government said in a press release.

Tsongwon Norbu, 29, was a native of Dawu County. It was unclear why he had burnt himself.

The local government has launched an investigation.