A man dived into the Burning Man effigy at the famous festival in Nevada after evading security to the horror of thousands of onlookers.

Astonishingly, he was pulled from the inferno and taken to a hospital but later died.

Around 70,000 people attend the gathering in the Black Rock Desert and one of the main highlights of the festival is the burning of a huge wooden statue.

But, as the crowds watched on Saturday night, the man dodged security and firefighters, ran towards the flaming structure and jumped into the flames.

Emergency services managed to drag the man from the fire and he was airlifted to a specialist burns unit at the University of California - Davis hospital, where he died on Sunday, according to reports.

Firefighters run towards the burning effigy to try and save the man from the fire (Reuters)

The festival said in a statement: “At approximately 10.30pm Saturday evening, a male participant at the annual Burning Man event in northern Nevada broke through a safety perimeter and ran into a fire.

“Black Rock City fire personnel rescued him from the fire. The individual was treated on the scene, transported to the on-site medical facility and airlifted to a burn treatment center.”

Tens of thousands of people from all over the world head to Burning Man festival every year.

The event is described as a “temporary metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance”.

The festival was due to end on Monday.

Source: Independent Uk