Ebola outbreak rumours denied by organisers, but thousands still trapped in mud at festival
Organisers of Burning Man festival have denied rumours of an Ebola outbreak with around 70,000 people still stranded at the event in Nevada, USA after heavy rains caused flooding and forced road closures around the site.
Some guests have escaped via hikes through the desert or hitch-hiking to safety. But organisers have advised attendees at the famous â and usually dry â desert gathering to take shelter and conserve dwindling supplies of food and water.
Police are investigating a death at the festival that was reported at the weekend. Burning Man Communications said in a statement that the death was âunrelated to the weatherâ.
A flash flood warning remains in effect for many parts of Nevada, according to the National Weather Service.
Despite festival officials warning people not to travel to Black Rock City â a temporary community about 120 miles north of Reno â Burning Man has not been shut down, with plans to torch the 40ft wooden effigy, the âMan burnâ, rescheduled for Monday at 9pm, the festival said in an update on Sunday evening.
Thousands of Burning Man attendees partied on Sunday despite the conditions. Videos posted to social media showed costumed revelers â including a few children â sliding through the sticky mess, most of them covered from head to toe in wet earth.
âWhen you get pushed to extremes, thatâs when the most fun happens,â said Brian Fraoli, 45, a veteran âburnerâ who works in finance in New York.
Mr Fraoli said he had tried to drag his luggage through the mud and escape, but gave up and decided to relax and enjoy the experience. âOverall it was an amazing week and next time we will be more prepared,â he said.
At a dive-bar-themed camp called Sharkeyâs Bar, a team served drinks into the wee hours on Sunday, giving out free cocktails to the drenched attendees.
The chaos has led to misinformation spreading on social media, including false claims about a possible Ebola outbreak at the festival. Organisers released a statement denying this, saying: âThe online rumors of transmissible illnesses in Black Rock City are unfounded and untrue.â
Some attendees are leaving the site on foot and walking to the nearest motorway to escape the boggy conditions.
The American DJ and music producer, Diplo, fled the festival with comedian Chris Rock on Saturday. He tweeted that he walked â5 miles in the mudâ before hitching a ride from a fan.
Supreme Court lawyer, Neal Katyal, tweeted on Sunday about his escape from the mud bath. âIt was an incredibly harrowing 6 mile hike at midnight through heavy and slippery mud, but I got safely out of Burning Man,â the former US acting solicitor general wrote.
One attendee stuck at the event, Andrew Hyde, told CNN that the weather had ignited a deeper sense of community.
âYou come out here to be in a harsh climate, and you prepare for that,â Mr Hyde told CNNâs Paula Newton. âSo in many ways, everybody here just kind of made friends with their neighbors and itâs a community event.â
âI think the concern is if we have another rain,â he added. âPeople need to go back to their jobs, back to the responsibilities they have back home.â
Burning Man is a counter-culture celebration of community and self-expression that culminates in the ceremonial burning of a towering wooden sculpture shaped like a man.
The free-spirited annual gathering began as an impromptu bonfire in June 1986 on Baker Beach in San Francisco, by the founders Larry Harvey and Jerry James, before being moved to the Black Rock Desert.
