A second Burning Man participant has died at the Nevada gathering, with organizers confirming the attendee was discovered unresponsive at his camp on Saturday afternoon.
The participant, identified as 60-year-old Craigh Mann, was found by fellow camp members during the annual nine-day event in Black Rock City, Nevada, according to festival officials. Authorities have not publicly released a cause of death.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the participant’s family, friends, campmates, and all those affected by this loss,” the festival said in a statement.
Mann’s death follows another fatal incident at Burning Man only days earlier, when a man in his mid-50s died after suffering a medical emergency, according to a notice from the Burning Man Project.
“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,” Burning Man also said in the statement.
The two deaths came during a challenging stretch for the desert festival, after rainfall prompted organizers to temporarily shut down the main entrance and exit gate in the Black Rock Desert.
On Friday, Burning Man organizers urged people still planning to travel to the event to postpone their arrival, while those already on-site were advised not to drive because of the conditions.
Known for its emphasis on radical self-expression, community and self-reliance, Burning Man has grown dramatically since it began as a small gathering in 1986. This year’s festival opened on August 30 and is scheduled to continue through Labor Day Monday.
In 2019, nearly 80,000 people attended Burning Man but attendance has been steadily shrinking since.
Last year, a 37-year-old man named Vadim Kruglov was found dead in “a pool of blood” at the festival, marking the first homicide in the event’s history.
He was discovered fatally stabbed in the neck inside a tent.
