A 60-year-old Burning Man participant was found dead at his camp on Saturday afternoon in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, organizers said. The death came less than a day after another man in his 50s was found dead at the annual counterculture festival.
Burning Man Project identified the man as Craigh Mann and said he was discovered around 3 p.m. Saturday. Officials did not release a cause of death. The earlier death occurred Thursday evening, when emergency responders tried to revive another male participant, but he died at the scene.
Authorities said the two deaths, which happened about 21 hours apart, are not believed to be connected. The Washoe County coroner is expected to determine the cause of death after an autopsy, and the Pershing County sheriff said there were no immediate signs of foul play, though that could not be ruled out until the autopsy is complete.
The deaths came as the festival approached its final highlight, the Temple Burn, and after heavy rain turned the desert playa to mud, briefly forcing gate closures and adding to the disruption. Burning Man deaths are rare but not unprecedented at the event, which draws tens of thousands of people to northern Nevada each year.
