(CNN) A man has died after running into the towering blaze for which Burning Man is named, according to the Pershing County Sheriff's Office in Nevada.

Aaron Joel Mitchell, 41, was one of thousands at the annual gathering in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, about 120 miles north of Reno. The weeklong event of pop-up installations culminates in massive burns of an effigy known as the "Man" on Saturday and the "Temple" on Sunday.

Mitchell was a US citizen who lived in Switzerland with his wife, Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen said in a Sunday night statement.

Mitchell broke through two levels of security guards protecting the area where the "Man" was burning on Saturday night. Fire personnel attempted to pull him out but falling portions of the burning structure hindered their efforts. Rescuers had to wait until the structure fell before they could go back into the flames and safely extract him from the debris, the sheriff said.

He was airlifted to the nearest burn center, at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California. He was pronounced dead at the hospital on Sunday morning, and his family has been notified, the sheriff's office said.

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