One person dies in Nevada's Burning Man festival as thousands stranded in mud

Authorities in the US state of Nevada say they are investigating one death after a severe rainstorm left tens of thousands of people attending the annual Burning Man festival stranded in mud.

The Pershing County Sheriff's Office in northern Nevada said in a statement on Sunday that the death happened during a "rain event" a day earlier, but did not provide details of the cause of death or the person's identity.

"The family has been notified and the death is under investigation," the sheriff's office said.

Access to and from Black Rock City, the event's site, which is located about 110 miles (180 km) north of Reno, was closed "for the remainder of the event," organizers said in a statement on social media.

The Washoe County Sheriff's Office said the entrance to Burning Man had been closed due to flooding and anyone trying to get in "will be turned away."

More than 60,000 participants travel to and from the remote area in northwest Nevada every year, according to the event's website, gathering in the temporary city to make art and enjoy community at a cost of $575 per person for a regular ticket. Local media reported there were around 73,000 "burners" in Black Rock City.

The counter-culture festival, which was scheduled to run from August 27 until September 4, will continue in a limited fashion, weather permitting, organizers said online.

The festival gets its name from its culminating event, the burning of a large wooden structure called the Man on the penultimate night. The fire will be attempted on Sunday night, organizers said.

Videos shared on social media showed festival-goers wading ankle deep in thick mud. The site is in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, a large, flat, ancient lake bed known as a playa.

"Rain over the last 24 hours has created a situation that required a full stop of vehicle movement on the playa," the US Bureau of Land Management, the agency that manages the land on which the event takes place, said in a statement on Saturday.

"More rain is expected over the next few days and conditions are not expected to improve enough to allow vehicles to enter the playa," it added.

The National Weather Service said on Sunday that scattered and sometimes heavy rain showers were expected through the afternoon and overnight.

Some decided to leave the site early, walking approximately 5 miles (8 km) through the mud to the nearest highway, where the organizers were offering shuttle buses to Reno. No details were available on how many had decided to leave.

(Source: Reuters)

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