Mexico’s Carnaval de Bahidorá has confirmed that an attendee died at the three-day music festival this weekend. Authorities have yet to confirm the identity of the deceased or comment on the cause of death.
“Today, we deeply regret to communicate the death of an attendee in Las Estacas, Morelos,” reads a statement posted to Bahidorá’s official Twitter account. “We have cooperated with the authorities in accordance to established protocols, and we have been in direct contact with the family members of the victim, to whom we have expressed our most heartfelt condolences. Out of respect to him and his loved ones, we will not publish more personal details.”
The festival also mentioned that over its seven-year history, its “top priority” has been attendee safety, and that it operates under “strict rules of civil protection and security.”
Bahidorá takes place in Las Estacas, an aquatic park located within the Sierra de Montenegro nature reserve. Festivalgoers, many of whom camp onsite and attend concerts around the clock over the course of the weekend, can swim in the Yautepec River.
On social media, festivalgoers have claimed that this weekend’s victim drowned. Twitter user Karla Ripoll questioned the festival’s decision to wait until Sunday night to announce the death. “I can’t believe they took a completely stiff dead man out of the river in front of my eyes, and Bahidorá didn’t follow any protocol. The party continued as though nothing had happened; everyone kept swimming in the river,” she tweeted.
This year, the festival’s lineup featured Blood Orange, BadSista, Mr. Fingers, and many others. Bahidorá organizers did not immediately return a request for comment, but Remezcla will update this story if more information becomes available.