Mainland Rules Out Arson In Tibet Temple Fire

The mainland authorities have ruled out arson as the cause of a recent fire at Tibetan Buddhism's holiest temple, state media reported on Thursday, adding that an important Buddha statue had emerged "intact" from the blaze.

The report is the first official account of Saturday's fire at the more than 1,300-year-old Jokhang Temple, after authorities suppressed social media accounts of the incident, leading to accusations of a cover-up.

The fire erupted on the building's second floor, but was soon put out, according to the official Xinhua news agency, which said the blaze had damaged the building's golden roof.

There were no casualties and the building has already been reopened to the public, it said. Jokhang temple is a Unesco World Heritage Site which lies at the heart of old Lhasa.

It is Tibetan Buddhism's most sacred site and home to the Jowo Shakyamuni, a revered statue of the founder of Buddhism.

"The life-sized statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha when he was 12 years old was intact," Xinhua said, without giving any further details.

The mainland's efforts to censor reports of the blaze raised concern among academics and Tibetans abroad that authorities are hiding the extent of the damage at the sensitive religious site.

On Twitter, Robert Barnett, an expert on Tibetan Buddhism, linked to videos and photos on social media that he said suggested the Jowo Shakyamuni had sustained superficial damage. (AFP)