XINING - A Tibetan student died on Sunday evening after setting herself on fire in Northwest China's Qinghai province, local authorities said Monday.

A 16-year old girl who was studying at a minority middle school in Zekog county in the Huangnan Tibetan autonomous prefecture set herself ablaze around 6:50 pm in the village of Dageri, according to prefectural authorities.

The girl's body was cremated at 11 pm and the remains have been returned to her family.

The prefectural government has sent work teams to the village to investigate the incident.

Located at the junction of Qinghai and Gansu provinces, the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Huangnan has a population of 257,000 people, about 68 percent of whom are Tibetans.