A female participant died on the first day of the 2024 Burning Man festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert on Sunday, the event and local authorities announced.
Burning Man emergency service personnel responded to a report of an unresponsive individual at 11:29 a.m in Black Rock City, the Burning Man Project said in a news release. Life saving measures were “attempted but were unsuccessful,” officials said. Black Rock City is a temporary city erected for the annual festival.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office identified the deceased in a statement Monday afternoon as Kendra Frazer, 39. No hometown was given, but the department said family has been notified.
The office said a pending autopsy and drug tests need to be completed before cause and manner of death can be determined. Drug tests, or toxicology screening, can sometimes take weeks to complete.
In an earlier statement, the sheriff’s office said it was notified about “the potential death” of a participant at 11:37 a.m. Sunday by the festival and deputies responded and confirmed the fatality.
“Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family and friends affected by this loss,” the Burning Man Project, the nonprofit behind the annual event, said.
The organization said support is available to festival participants including peer support services at Black Rock Rangers headquarters and outposts, and via Black Rock City’s Emergency Services Department’s Crisis Support team.
“The safety and well-being of our staff and community are paramount,” it said. “We are cooperating fully with local authorities as they investigate this incident. The Pershing County Sheriff’s office investigates all deaths that occur in its jurisdiction.”
It comes after the festival temporarily closed gates to the event early Saturday due to rain for about 12 hours.
Last year, 32-year-old festival-goer Leon Reece, 32, of Truckee, California died after he was found unresponsive on the festival grounds, authorities said. Drug intoxication was suspected in his death, a coroner’s office said in September.
That death came amid a weekend of heavy rain that left the venue muddy, roads impassable and many participants exiting by foot. Organizers temporarily shut down traffic in and out of Black Rock City.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
