A murder investigation has been launched at the Burning Man festival in the US state of Nevada after a man was found “lying in a pool of blood” on Saturday night, police say.
A festival-goer stopped a police officer at around 21:14 (04:14 GMT) to alert him about the incident and the man was found “lying on the ground, obviously deceased” at a campsite, Nevada’s Pershing County Sheriff’s office said.
The body was discovered as the Man – a towering structure which lends the festival its name – was beginning to burn. The victim’s identity is not known.
Burning Man Project said it was co-operating with law enforcement and urged those at the festival not to interfere with the investigation.
Part of the site in the Black Rock Desert was cordoned off as on-site police began investigating alongside a forensics team.
Sheriff Jerry Allen said “several participants in the immediate area” were interviewed.
“Although this act appears to be a singular crime, all participants should always be vigilant of their surroundings and acquaintances,” Sheriff Allen warned.
A significant police presence was to remain at the scene as the investigation continued.
Burning Man draws tens of thousands of attendees to Black Rock City – which the organisers describe as “a temporary metropolis” put up in the desert annually to host the festival, which this year ends on Monday.
Fatalities have been reported at the festival in the past, including a death during torrential rain in 2023 and a man who ran into the Man while it was on fire in 2017.
