How many people have died at Burning Man Festival? Authorities latest statements - what's been said

The person who died at Burning Man was a man in his 40s, it has been revealed.

Authorities are investigating a death at the festival in Nevada where thousands of attendees were left stranded after flooding from storms swept through the desert. The roads have since dried up and allowed partygoers 5o begin their exodus from the northern Nevada desert.

Organisers closed vehicle access to the counter-culture festival on Saturday (2 September) and revellers were left to trudge through mud, many barefoot or wearing plastic bags on their feet, after being urged to shelter in place and conserve food, water and other supplies. Reports of Ebola have been dismissed after rumours on social media.

The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said the death happened during the event but initially offered few details, including the identity of the deceased person or the suspected cause of death.

More than half an inch of rain is believed to have fallen on Friday at the festival site, located about 110 miles north of Reno, the National Weather Service said. At least another quarter of an inch of rain is expected on Sunday.

How many people have died?

One death has been confirmed so far for Burning Man 2023. In an update it was later confirmed that the person who died was a man in his 40s - and is said not to be weather-related.

The sheriff of nearby Pershing County said he was investigating but has not identified the man or a cause of death.

What have the authorities said?

Pershing County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the death happened during Burning Man, but offered no further details.

On their website, organisers encouraged participants to remain calm and suggested the festival is built to endure conditions like the flooding. They said mobile phone trailers were being dropped in several locations on Saturday night and they would be briefly opening up internet overnight.

Shuttle buses were also being organised to take attendees to Reno from the nearest town of Gerlach, a walk of about five miles from the site.

“Burning Man is a community of people who are prepared to support one another. We have come here knowing this is a place where we bring everything we need to survive,” the organisers said in a statement. “It is because of this that we are all well-prepared for a weather event like this.”

US President Joe Biden told reporters in Delaware on Sunday that he is aware of the situation at Burning Man, including the death, and the White House is in touch with local officials. Mr Biden said he did not know the cause of death.

Mark Deutschendorf, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Reno, said it should stay mostly clear and dry at the festival site on Monday (4 September), although some light rain showers could pass through Tuesday (5 September) morning.

How have the partygoers reacted?

“We are a little bit dirty and muddy but spirits are high. The party still going,” said Scott London, a southern California photographer, adding that the travel limitations offered “a view of Burning Man that a lot of us don’t get to see”.

Some attendees, however, managed to walk several miles to the nearest town or catch a ride there.

Diplo, whose real name is Thomas Wesley Pentz, posted a video to Instagram on Saturday evening showing him and Rock riding in the back of a fan’s truck. He said they had walked six miles through the mud before hitching a ride. "I legit walked the side of the road for hours with my thumb out,” Diplo wrote.

Cindy Bishop and three of her friends managed to drive their rented RV out of the festival at dawn on Monday when, Bishop said, the main road was not being guarded. She said they were happy to make it out after driving towards the exit — and getting stuck several times — over the course of two days.

But Bishop, who travelled from Boston for her second Burning Man, said spirits were still high at the festival when they had left. Most people she spoke with said they planned to stay for the ceremonial burns. “The spirit in there,” she said, “was really like, ‘We’re going to take care of each other and make the best of it’.”

Rebecca Barger, a photographer from Philadelphia, arrived at her first Burning Man on August 26 and was determined to stick it out through the end. “Everyone has just adapted, sharing RVs for sleeping, offering food and coffee,” Ms Barger said. “I danced in foot-deep clay for hours to incredible DJs.”