An exile group has released graphic photos and video of two Tibetans burning themselves in a protest against Chinese rule.

The Tibetan Youth Congress said that the men self-immolated in Yushu prefecture, a heavily Tibetan area in west China's Qinghai province.

The group and the official Xinhua News Agency said one man died and the other was seriously injured.

The group released photos of a charred body and a video showing two men holding up Tibetan independence flags as flames engulf them.

Both stumble and fall in the seven-second video before one man rises and runs down the street in flames.

About three dozen people have immolated in China's Tibetan areas over the past year. The government has confirmed some but not all of them.

The Tibetan Youth Congress identified the dead man as 24-year-old Tenzin Khedup and the injured as Ngawang Norphel, 22.

The short video shows several bystanders, including a woman who exits a car next to the burning men and runs away.

The group said "anonymous citizen journalists" took the video and photos. US broadcaster Radio Free Asia's Chinese language service posted the video to YouTube.

Beijing blames the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama for inciting the self-immolations.

The Dalai Lama denies that and says the acts are the result of China's repressive policies in Tibet.