State media says 67-year-old set herself alight in front of former presidential palace in protest against Chinese rig in disputed waters

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

A Vietnamese woman has died after setting herself on fire in downtown Ho Chi Minh City in protest against China's deployment of an oil rig in waters claimed by Hanoi, state media reported.

The 67-year-old woman self-immolated in front of the Reunification Palace at about 6am (midnight BST) on Friday, Thanh Nien newspaper reported.

The paper quoted Le Truong Hai Hieu, a top city official, as saying that police had recovered a plastic container thought to contain fuel, a lighter and seven handwritten banners saying among other things: "Demand unity to smash the Chinese invasion plot" and "Support Vietnamese coastguards and fishermen."

China's deployment of the rig on 1 May in the South China Sea triggered fury in Vietnam, which has been feuding with China for years over overlapping claims in the potentially oil- and gas-rich seas. Ships Hanoi sent to confront the rigs have been facing off against Chinese vessels protecting it.

Street protests have also occurred, although Vietnam's authoritarian government clamped down on them after they turned into anti-Chinese riots that left three Chinese nationals dead and damaged scores of foreign-owned factories.

News of the self-immolation spread quickly on the internet. Thanh Nien ran a clip purportedly showing the incident and motorcyclists looking on. The paper said the woman came to the palace by taxi and set herself on fire before guards there could react.

Self-immolations in Vietnam are rare but have been occasionally reported over the years.

In 1963, a Buddhist monk set himself alight at a busy intersection in Saigon to protest against the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government. An Associated Press photograph of him won a Pulitzer prize and remains a recognised image today.