Published
Mon, Sep 4, 2017, 11:14
- The festivalgoer, 41, passed away hours after running into a large fire on Saturday night.
A man has died at the US festival Burning Man.
An investigation is underway after Aaron Joel Mitchell, 41, ran past security personnel and into a large fire on Saturday night. The US citizen, who had been living in Switzerland, died on Sunday morning, shortly after being airlifted to University College Davis hospital burn centre in California. Mitchell had broken through two sets of security staff before running into a ceremonial effigy, the Man Burn, which was watched by an estimated 50,000 people. Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen told Associated Press that Mitchell had not been under the influence of alcohol. A toxicology report is pending. The festival, located in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, cancelled a number of scheduled fires, but continued as planned with the Temple Burn on Sunday night.
In a statement, the festival said: "Aaron Joel Mitchell, 41, succumbed Sunday morning to injuries suffered after breaking through a safety perimeter Saturday night and running into a fire at the annual Burning Man event in northern Nevada. Mr Mitchell's family has been advised of his death. Burning Man is working with local and federal law enforcement agencies, and an investigation is currently ongoing."