Deaths have been reported at the site of the Burning Man music and arts festival – where thousands of attendees have been forced into “survival mode” as heavy rain turned the Nevada desert into a dangerous mud pit, authorities said.
The death occurred “during this rain event,” the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said, according to a KNSD report late Saturday.
But further details, including the person’s identity or an apparent motive, were not immediately released.
“As this death is still under investigation, no further information is available at this time,” officials said in a statement.
The counter-culture festival, held in the Black Rock Desert, closed early on Saturday, following severe weather, caused by the remnants of Cyclone Hilary.
More than 73,000 attendees were ordered to shelter in place, and those still en route to the festival were told to “turn around and go home” by the federal Bureau of Land Management, the public agency that manages the land where the event is held.
Heavy rains have turned the Nevada desert into a dangerous mud pit.NBC
“More rain is expected in the next few days and conditions are not expected to be good enough for vehicles to enter the playa,” officials said.
Earlier, organizers had told participants to conserve their food and water, and banned vehicles from the road because Burners, as the participants were known, spent the night in mud-filled tents and RVs.
Photos and videos posted to social media show the audience walking through a muddy desert, some barefoot, others wearing mud-covered shoes and clothes, and others walking with bags to protect their shoes.
More rain is expected in the coming days and conditions are not expected to improve.PAUL REDER via REUTERS
Participants are expected to provide their own food, water and shelter for the duration of the event – which ends on Monday with a mass exodus known as the Exodus.
“I think it’s just a waiting game right now,” contestant Max Spooner, seen walking the grounds with a mattress strapped to his back, told USA TODAY. “Life mode, let’s go.”
Spooner told the paper he had to move and slip into his car and grab a dry bed after his tent got wet on Friday night.
More than 73,000 attendees were ordered to shelter in place. ©2023 Maxar Technologies via AP
The death occurred “during this rain event,” officials said. Washoe County Sheriff’s Office/AFP via Getty Images
Temperatures dropped into the low 50s on the grounds of the festival, the outlet reported.
The storm also left many without cell phone service, the newspaper reported.
A Los Angeles-based doctor, who asked to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak to the media, told Insider that stranded Burners are at risk for a variety of illnesses, including COVID-19.
Burners with plastic bags around their shoes move through the mud.NBC
Muddy conditions prevented vehicles from entering or leaving the playa.NBC
They are also likely to experience food poisoning and hygiene-related stomach bugs as essential cleaning supplies are running low.
“If it rains again, which will prevent people from being able to use their vehicles for another three to four days, people will be stranded there, and there will be resource problems,” the doctor said.
“The boxes of port-a-potties will probably start overflowing, and that will mix with mud and rain, and it will probably spread infectious diseases.”
More rain could affect festival goers for a few more days. PAUL REDER via REUTERS
“As the days go by, and people realize that they won’t have enough water to wash dishes, there will be more sanitation and hygiene issues,” he added.
“So I think people might start to get a little desperate, and we might start seeing people get sick if they don’t find a way to get out of there quickly.”
The botched event drew comparisons to the ill-fated 2017 Fyre Festival in the Bahamas that saw its organizer, Billy McFarland, sentenced to six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and using false documents to cheat investors out of $26 million.
Burners walk barefoot through the muddy desert.Instagram/@evi_airy
On Saturday, comics Chris Rock and DJ Diplo walked six miles through mud to escape the disaster, eventually hitching a ride in the back of a fan’s pickup truck.
By Postal Wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
