A second Burning Man attendee has been found dead at the Nevada desert festival, intensifying scrutiny of safety at this year’s event.
Craigh Mann, 60, was discovered deceased in his camp on Saturday afternoon by fellow campers at Black Rock City, according to a festival statement. The cause of death was not disclosed.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the participant’s family, friends, campmates, and all those affected by this loss,” the festival said in its statement.
Mann’s death came just days after another male attendee in his mid-50s suffered a fatal medical emergency at the same event. That man received immediate lifesaving measures and was transported to an onsite emergency care center, where he was pronounced dead, the Burning Man Project confirmed.
“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,” the organization said in its statement.
The back-to-back fatalities have cast a shadow over the 2025 gathering, which began August 30 and is scheduled to run through Labor Day Monday.
Weather complications had already disrupted the festival before either death occurred. Heavy rain forced organizers to close the main entry and exit gates in the Black Rock Desert. On Friday, attendees were instructed to delay travel plans if they had not yet arrived, while those already on-site were advised to avoid driving their vehicles.
The annual nine-day event, rooted in principles of self-expression and self-reliance, traces its origins to a small 1986 gathering and has now entered its 40th year. Attendance peaked in 2019 at nearly 80,000 participants but has been declining steadily since.
The current deaths also revive memories of last year’s unprecedented violence at the festival. In 2024, 37-year-old Vadim Kruglov was found dead inside a tent, fatally stabbed in the neck. He was discovered in what authorities described as “a pool of blood,” marking the first homicide in Burning Man’s four-decade history.
That killing remains under investigation, and authorities have not announced any arrests. The circumstances surrounding Kruglov’s death prompted intense online speculation and renewed debate about security at the remote, self-policing event where law enforcement presence is deliberately limited.
The 2024 homicide and the current medical fatalities have together amplified questions about whether the festival’s ethos of radical self-reliance can adequately protect participants as the event evolves.
Organizers have not indicated whether the recent deaths will prompt operational changes for the remaining days of the 2025 gathering or for future iterations of the festival.
Burning Man continues through Monday in the Black Rock Desert.