Burning Man organisers have released a statement following the death of two festivalgoers at this year’s famous event in the Nevada Desert. It comes a year after a killing in the Playa
Two revellers at Burning Man have died within a few days of each other one year after a man was stabbed to death inside a tent in the Nevada Desert.
Craig Mann, 60, was found dead by his campmates at Black Rock City on Saturday afternoon, according to festival organisers. His cause of death has not been confirmed.
Burning Man said in a statement: “Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the participant’s family, friends, campmates, and all those affected by this loss.” Mann died a few days after another reveller, a man in his mid-50s, suffered a medical emergency on Thursday.
Organisers said medics tried to safe his life before being rushed to the festival’s onsite emergency care centre, reports the New York Post. He was later pronounced dead.
Burning Man Project said on Monday: “It is with heavy hearts that Burning Man Project confirms a Black Rock City participant in his mid-50s experienced a medical emergency, immediately received lifesaving measures, and was transported to the onsite center for emergency care where he was pronounced deceased.”
Last year, Vadim Kruglov was stabbed to death inside a tent. The person responsible remains on the loose. Kruglov, a Washington resident born in Omsk, Siberia, was found in a pool of blood inside a red-and-white tent around 9.15pm on August 30 last year just as the iconic “Man” was being set ablaze.
It marked the first known homicide in the festival’s history, Pershing County Sheriff’s Sgt. Nathan Carmichael said. According to a yearlong investigation by SFGATE, which interviewed over 80 people, and reporting from KTLA, the brutal attack left Kruglov with no chance to defend himself.
An anonymous witness told The Hollywood Reporter that an older woman in a red dress flagged her down, calmly stating a man in her tent was “bleeding out and might be dead,” adding she “didn’t want to touch him”.
Anyone with information regarding this crime is urged to contact the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office.
Organiser said following Kruglov’s death: “Our hearts go out to Vadim’s family and friends, and we grieve the loss of a community member. Burning Man Project is doing everything we can to assist the sheriff’s investigation so the perpetrator can be caught and brought to justice.”
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