Two Dead at Burning Man as Festival Closes
Two Dead at Burning Man as Festival Closes
The News
Two men are dead at this year's Burning Man festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, the second found in his own camp days after the first collapsed with a medical emergency.
Craigh Mann, 60, was found dead by his campmates on Saturday afternoon, according to the festival. No cause of death has been released.
Days earlier, a man in his mid-50s died after a medical emergency at the event. Burning Man Project said he "immediately received lifesaving measures" and was taken to the onsite emergency care center, where he was pronounced dead.
Pershing County Sheriff Coroner Jerry Allen said there were "no apparent signs of external foul play," with the final cause of death still pending.
The Backdrop
The deaths close out a rough edition of the festival. Heavy rain turned the dry lakebed to mud and forced organizers to shut the main entry and exit gate, telling anyone still traveling to delay and those already on site not to drive.
Timeline
The nine-day festival opens at Black Rock City, Nevada. It is scheduled to run through Labor Day Monday.
Rain closes the main gate. Organizers tell would-be attendees to delay travel and tell those on the playa to avoid driving vehicles.
A man in his mid-50s suffers a medical emergency, receives lifesaving measures and is pronounced dead at the onsite emergency care center.
Campmates find Craigh Mann, 60, dead at his camp. The festival confirms the death; no cause is given.
The festival closes with two deaths on the books.
Reactions
"Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the participant's family, friends, campmates, and all those affected by this loss," Burning Man Project said in a statement on Mann's death.
On the earlier death, the organization said: "It is with heavy hearts that Burning Man Project confirms a Black Rock City participant in his mid-50s experienced a medical emergency, immediately received lifesaving measures, and was transported to the onsite center for emergency care where he was pronounced deceased."
Sheriff Coroner Allen's finding of no apparent foul play, reported by Music Feeds, has tempered speculation on the playa. Organizers have made peer and crisis-support resources available around the clock.
Coverage has not disputed the basic facts. Outlets have split on the framing — some noting that a gathering of this size routinely sees a death or two, others pointing to the festival's run of bad luck and its shrinking crowds.
What's Next
Mann's cause of death remains pending with the coroner. The first man's name has not been released pending notification of his family.
Both deaths land while the killing of a festivalgoer last year is still an open homicide case with no suspect identified publicly.
More
Last year, 37-year-old Vadim Kruglov, a Russian national, was found fatally stabbed in the neck inside a tent at the festival — the first homicide in Burning Man's history. Investigators recovered an apparent murder weapon, but the case remains unsolved.
Burning Man started as a small gathering in 1986 and is built on self-expression and self-reliance. SF Gate reports the event typically sees one or two deaths a year as Black Rock City takes in more than 60,000 people. Attendance peaked near 80,000 in 2019 and has been shrinking since.
Poll
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