Woman dies at Afrikaburn 2016
Details are still sketchy but news has filtered through via Facebook that a woman died at Afrikaburn 2016 in what was a tragic accident.
As mentioned not all details are 100% confirmed but according to social media she went by the name of ‘Dana Lawless.’ Afrikaburn 2016 was not her first ‘burn’.
She allegedly fell off an ‘artcar’ and sustained the injuries. Paramedics were rushed to the scene and Dana was airlifted from the venue but sadly succumbed to her injuries.
An ‘artcar’ is a modified vehicle that has been built specifically for the ‘burn’, as it is fondly referred to, and Afrikaburn 2016 would have had plenty of these vehicles cruising the ‘playa’ [party area] with revellers hanging off them as they spread their cheer.
Usually an ‘artcar’ resembles something out of a Mad Max movie and they are the only motorised vehicles ‘Burners’ are allowed to use at the desert festival. Many opt for bicycles to cruise around the vast desert area known as the ‘playa’ to visit the multitude of camp sites, art installations and dance floors that are set up.
An example of an ‘artcar.’ This photo is from Burning Man.
As far as we can tell this could be the first festival-related death at Afrikaburn [excluding any fatal motorcar accidents that may have occurred to or from the event]. Afrikaburn 2016 is in fact the event’s 10th year so this tragic event puts something of a damper on what is effectively a very well run and professional event.
No doubt questions will be raised about the safety aspects of these ‘artcars’ roaming the ‘playa’ and the event has grown tremendously to make managing the festival and all its revellers that much tougher.
The original event known as Burning Man in the United States, on which Afrikaburn is based, has had several deaths over the years and in recent time has also received a fair amount of criticism. Originally a hippy festival both Burning Man and Afrikaburn have grown massively in size [relative to their own capacities] and have become one of the ‘must-do’ fashionable annual events to attend. Irrespective of how ‘mainstream’ some original burners may claim it to be, it’s still one of the wildest parties on the planet and remains an exercise in self expression.
We offer our condolences to all the family and friends of Dana Lawless. This is indeed a tragic turn of events and will be a challenging time for those affected.
UPDATE
Afrikaburn released an ‘Incident Report’ late yesterday on their website. It reads as follows;
Report from Tankwa Town:
It is with a heavy heart that we report that on Saturday 31st April 52 year old Dana Lawless passed away after being airlifted off site from the AfrikaBurn event. Dana was travelling on her Theme Camp’s art car when she lost her footing and fell under the trailer that it was dragging. Medics were on the scene within minutes and she was stabilized and airlifted off site. Unfortunately she succumbed to her injuries and passed away on admittance at Tygerberg hospital.
AfrikaBurn would like to offer our sincerest condolences to her family, camp mates and loved ones.
Full details will follow as they are processed.”
Monique Schiess
Creative Lead Liaison
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