Burning Man horror: Man dies after jumping into flames at Nevada desert festival, before horrified onlookers

UPDATE:

The Associated Press (AP) reports that the man who jumped into a burning effigy at the Burning Man Festival on Saturday night has died.

Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen told AP that the man dove through a chain of security officers during the Man Burn event, the centerpiece of the festival. He was quickly rescued from the fire and transported to UC Davis burn center, where he was pronounced dead.

The victim remains unidentified.

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A man attending Burning Man jumped into the festival’s flaming centerpiece before horrified witnesses as firefighters tried to stop him.

The Daily News reports that the unidentified man jumped through the safety perimeter at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday night at the annual festival in Black Rock  Though rescue crews tried desperately to pull him away from the 50-foot burning effigy, the man broke past them and dove headfirst into the fire.

The man was reportedly transported to a burn center for treatment. He appears to have initially survived but his current condition is unknown.

The Burning Man festival confirmed the incident in a statement on its website.

It reads:

At approximately 10:30 p.m. Saturday evening, a male participant at the annual Burning Man event in Northern Nevada broke through a safety perimeter and ran into a fire. Black Rock City fire personnel rescued him from the fire.

The individual was treated on scene, transported to the on-site medical facility and airlifted to a burn treatment center.

We will share more information as it becomes available.

Approximately 70,000 people attended this year’s Burning Man festival.

There have been multiple accidents and deaths at Burning Man in recent years, including one hanging suicide, according to RT.com. 

CrimeOnline will update this story when more information becomes available

 

Feature photo: Associated Press