Heavy rains make 'Burning Man' site muddy, police investigate one death

As thousands of attendees were ordered to take shelter amid muddy conditions and heavy rain during the Burning Man festival in Nevada desert, police launched investigation into a death. The Sheriff's Office in Pershing County said late on Saturday (September 2) that it was looking into "a death which occurred during this rain event" as per a statement cited in US media.

There were no immediate public details about the person's identity or circumstances of the death.

"As this death is still under investigation, there is no further information available at this time," news outlet NBC quoted the statement as saying.

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Watch | Burning Man festival-goers trapped in desert as rain turns site to mud

Earlier on Saturday, the Bureau of Land Management and Pershing County Sheriff's Office were forced to close entrance to the Burning Man after heavy rainfall.

"Do not travel to Black Rock City!," Burning Man organisers tweeted, referring to the desert area where the alternative culture festival takes place.

"Access to the city is closed for the remainder of the event, and you will be turned away."

The organisers urged those already at the site to "conserve food, water and fuel, and shelter in a warm, safe space."

They said that it was unlikely that the rain would stop until Sunday night. The Burning Man festival was scheduled to conclude on Monday.

Due to heavy rains, the "playa," or the huge open-air esplanade where the festival unfolds was inaccessible.

The organisers said on the website that only four-wheel drive vehicles which had all-terrain tires were able to move.

"Anything less than that will get stuck. It will hamper Exodus if we have cars stuck on roads in our camping areas, or on the Gate Road out of the city," they said on a "2023 Wet Playa Survival Guide" page.

Organisers said that if necessary, it was possible to walk five miles (eight kilometres) through the mud to reach the nearest road where they would provide buses during daylight hours for people to go to Reno.

In order to facilitate access to communication networks, the organisers said they were deploying mobile cellphone towers and opening the site's wifi for public.

"We have done table-top drills for events like this. We are engaged full-time on all aspects of safety and looking ahead to our Exodus as our next priority," they said.

It was forecast that it would rain more on Saturday night and early Sunday.

Just last year, the 'burners,' as the festivalgoers are known, were inconvenienced due to intense heat wave amid strong winds.

(With inputs from agencies)

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