Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seeker dies by self-immolation in Melbourne

Mano Yogalingham died on Wednesday after he set himself on fire in Melbourne in the state of Victoria, sustaining burns on over 80 per cent of his body, according to the Tamil Refugee Council. The council, and other advocacy groups, say his death came following a decade spent with uncertain visa status in Australia, after fleeing Sri Lanka as a child.

The Victoria Police Centre confirmed in a statement to Newsweek that, "Emergency services were called to a skate park in near the intersection of Memorial Drive and Heatherton Road about 7:55 p.m."

"A 23-year-old Noble Park man was located at the scene and taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries."

The statement confirmed that the man died in hospital on Wednesday and that the police are preparing a report for the coroner. It also confirmed that the circumstances around the incident are yet to be determined, but the matter is not believed to be suspicious.

The Tamil Refugee Council shared a statement on its Facebook responding to the news, writing "The tragic death of a Tamil asylum seeker in Dandenong today highlights the devastating impact of the Australian Government's refugee policies."

"Mano was just 23 years old and had his whole life ahead of him. But the psychological torment inflicted by the Australian Government's cruel and inhumane policies, compounded by personal challenges, drove him to a point where he believed he had nothing left to live for," Rathy Barthlote, who said he was with Mano when he died, told the Tamil Refugee Council, an Australia based grassroots Tamil organization advocating for the rights of Tamil refugees in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and India.

"His mental health deteriorated under the strain of visa uncertainty, leading to this heartbreaking outcome." the statement read.