Nevada probe death at Burning Man Festival

An investigation has been launched into the death of a person during torrential rain at the Burning Man festival in the US state of Nevada.

The unusual rainstorms came towards the end of the nine-day festival, when the biggest crowds arrive to see the grand finale, the burning of the giant wooden effigy.

Thousands of people remain stranded at the event after the bad weather turned the ground to deep, slippery mud.

The tourists have been told to take shelter and conserve their food, while roads in and out of the event are closed as vehicles can barely move.

Pershing County Sheriff’s Sgt Nathan Carmichael says it is believed that around 70,000 people are stranded at the site,

Burning Man is one of America’s most well-known arts and culture events where visitors create a temporary city in the middle of the desert, and are expected to be largely self-sufficient while they are there.

It was founded in June 1986 and was first held in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert in 1990.