A large fire damaged one of Tibet’s holiest sites, the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, on Saturday, The Guardian reported citing videos on social media. The fire is said to have started around 6.30 pm local time (4 pm Indian Standard Time) on Saturday.
Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua said that the fire was put out soon and that there were no casualties. The cause of the fire is unknown or has not yet been revealed.
However, Phayul.com, a pro-Tibetan independence website which operates from New Delhi, claimed that the fire had destroyed a nearby shrine, not the Jokhang temple, which it said was undamaged.
The Jokhang temple in Lhasa is a United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization world heritage site. It houses a holy statue of the Buddha and other cultural treasures.
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