Nevada police are investigating the death of one person at the Burning Man 2023 festival following a severe rainstorm that has rendered tens of thousands of others stranded in the mud.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office in northern Nevada said in a statement that the casualty occurred “during this rain event” and did not disclose the person’s identity or the apparent cause, NBC News reported.
“As this death is still under investigation, there is no further information available at this time,” the office said, adding that “most festival operations have been halted or significantly delayed.”
Following the flooding from the recent rainstorm, the Bureau of Land Management and local police have closed the entrance to the festival, located in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, for the remainder of the event. Burning Man 2023 was supposed to run until Sept. 4.
Pershing County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Nathan Carmichael told CNN that “a little over 70,000 people” remained stranded Sept. 2, while others left the festival site by walking out. However, he added, “most of the RVs are stuck in place.”
