A third Burning Man attendee died during transport to a Reno hospital, while officials still had not disclosed the victim’s identity or cause.
NBC News reported that the attendee died while traveling from Black Rock City to a hospital in Reno, roughly 120 miles away. Pershing County Sheriff and Coroner Jerry Allen said the death occurred in Washoe County’s jurisdiction.
The death raised the Burning Man toll to three attendees during the weeklong Nevada gathering. The victim’s name and cause remained undisclosed, while two earlier deaths awaited medical testing, the New York Post reported.
Craig Mann, 60, was found dead at 3 p.m. Saturday inside a trailer he shared with his partner. Allen said the preliminary investigation found no signs of foul play, but officials had not disclosed a cause.
Sampson Tshombe, described as in his mid-50s, was found on a festival street. Emergency workers performed CPR before a doctor pronounced him dead, Allen said. Officials also found no signs of foul play in that case.
Allen said the county usually averages one death each year at Burning Man. This year brought two deaths inside the festival and another during hospital transport, as Fox News reported.
Allen described the information his office had received:
“Although we average 1 death a year at the Festival, we have had two so far this year within the confines of the Festival and I have received information regarding a third who died in transit to a hospital in Reno,”
The third death happened outside Allen’s jurisdiction, limiting the information immediately available to his office. The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office had not responded to a request for comment when the account was published.
The Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office planned autopsies and toxicology screenings for Mann and Tshombe. Allen said results could take six to eight weeks, a familiar delay in a fatal investigation such as a Colorado reservoir crash.
Those tests may answer the central question that preliminary findings cannot: how the men died. Ruling out foul play narrows an investigation, but it does not establish a medical cause.
Burning Man, an annual art festival held since 1986, draws about 70,000 people to Black Rock City. The 2026 gathering began Aug. 30 and was scheduled to end Monday. The same demand for clear facts applies in a rural Oregon death investigation or at a major public event.
The festival said its “thoughts and deepest condolences are with the participant’s family, friends, campmates, and all those affected by this loss.” It also said Tshombe immediately received lifesaving measures before workers took him to the onsite emergency center.
Officials had not identified the third attendee, named the Reno hospital or described the medical emergency. They also had not released causes for any of the three deaths. As with any sudden fatal emergency, authorities owe the public a careful record once the medical work is complete.
Large events cannot prevent every tragedy. But families and the public deserve straight answers, clear jurisdiction and full accountability when lives are lost.
