Two deaths reported at this year’s Burning Man festival

Sept. 6 (UPI) — Two people have died at this year’s Burning Man alternative arts festival being held in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, officials said.

The first death was reported Friday and the second Saturday by the Burning Man Project.

According to the U.S. nonprofit behind the annual nine-day event, Craigh Mann, 60, was found dead in his camp by campmates Saturday at 3 p.m.

“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the participant’s family, friends, campmates and all those affected by this loss,” it said in a statement.

The identity of the first death has not been made public.

Burning Man said it was a participant in their mid-50s who experienced an undisclosed medical emergency on Thursday.

The individual received lifesaving measures and was transported to the event’s emergency care center, where the man was pronounced dead.

Foul play is not suspected in either death, the Reno Gazette Journal reported.

Tens of thousands of people attend the weeklong Burning Man festival, with this year’s iteration ending Monday.

There have been a handful of deaths since 1990, when the festival moved to its current Black Rock Desert location, including that of Vadim Kruglov in 2025, which authorities continue to investigate as a homicide.