A third person has died at this year's Burning Man festival within days, the Pershing County Sheriff's Office has confirmed, after the individual passed away while being transported to hospital in Reno, Nevada. Their identity has not yet been released. The deaths, which authorities say are not currently believed to be linked, occurred in the run-up to the festival's traditional final-night burning of the Black Rock City temple, casting a shadow over the event's closing days.

The first victim, Sampson Tshombe, believed to be in his mid-50s, was found on a street within the festival grounds around 6.30pm on Thursday and died in a temporary on-site hospital; foul play is not suspected. Two days later, 60-year-old Craigh Mann was found dead in his trailer, with his partner Anya sharing tributes online. Both men will undergo autopsies and toxicology tests, expected to take six to eight weeks, at Washoe County's Medical Examiner's office. Sheriff Jerry Allen noted that while roughly one death occurs at Burning Man each year, this year's toll is above average; last year's festival saw the event's first homicide, an unsolved stabbing.