New Zealand man found dead at Burning Man festival campsite

The man who died at the Burning Man festival in the United States has been identified as New Zealand man, Shane Billingham, 33.

The music and art festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert is going on until September 2 and generally attracts tens of thousands of people.

According to the Reno Gazette Journal, Mr Billingham was pronounced dead on site at Burning Man by doctors shortly after he was found unresponsive in his vehicle.

Mr Billingham was found unresponsive at his campsite about 6.30pm (local time) on Thursday.

Bystanders began CPR until emergency responders arrived.

The death was initially being treated as suspicious.

The Reno Gazette reported the Pershing Sheriff’s Office shared Mr Billingham’s toxicology report, which showed he had a high concentration of carbon monoxide in his blood “that would be poisonous to human life”.

“Preliminary toxicology showed the presence of controlled substances to be an exacerbating factor. Quantitative analysis of the toxicology will not be available for a few weeks,” the sheriff’s office said.

Within hours of Mr Billingham’s death, a makeshift memorial was erected on site at Burning Man.

Friends and people who knew Mr Billingham have paid tribute to him on social media.

“I think I feel so surprised because, based on the size of his heart and his zest for life, I simply never expected his to end so soon,” one person wrote on Facebook.

“I’m going to take comfort in knowing that in the however many years he was on this planet, I know he touched more lives and had a larger positive impact than many do in 10 lifetimes.”

Another person said Mr Billingham was “one of those people who was always smiling, always helping, always working hard at something” and always trying to make the world a “brighter” place.

Speaking to the Reno Gazette, Steve MacWithey, one of Mr Billingham’s friends who was with him at Burning Man, said he was “one of the best people I’ve known”.

Mr MacWithey met Mr Billingham at Burning Man four years ago and have been close ever since.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.