DURBAN – Police have launched an investigation into the sudden deaths of two businessmen from Durban who were found dead in their tent on a private camping site about 20 km from where the annual AfrikaBurn Festival was held in the Tankwa Karoo at the end of April this year.

The deceased Anban Pillay (48) and Kavish Baldeo (44) were best friends.

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AfrikaBurn is an annual week-long creative art experiment and community-driven festival held in the Tankwa Karoo desert of South Africa. As an official affiliate with Burning Man, it focuses on radical self-expression, participation and communal living, where attendees build “Tankwa Town” from scratch to create art, performances and elaborate mutant vehicles.

According to Western Cape Police spokesperson Capt FC van Wyk, it was reported that two men died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

“On Saturday, 2 May 2026, Ceres Detectives attended to a scene at a farm in the Karoo, Ceres. Upon members’ arrival they found the bodies of two males lying on the ground inside a stretch camping tent. They were found by a friend who was also staying on the premises. There was a smell of gas inside the tent and also a blue gas heater. Both of them were declared deceased on the scene.”

An informed source told Novanews that when the men arrived at the entrance to the AfrikaBurn Festival, there was something wrong with their tickets. According to the source, the men then went back to a farm stall down the road about 20 km away to get WiFi to sort out the problems with their tickets.

“They eventually sorted out the problems with their tickets. It sounds like they went to bed with their gas heater on. There were three of them. When the one guy went to get them up in the morning, they were both dead – from carbon monoxide poisoning.”

According to Lorraine Tanner, executive director for development at AfrikaBurn, it is important to note that the incident did not occur at AfrikaBurn, and the deceased had not checked into the event prior to the incident occurring. Tanner says the incident occurred at Da Boer Camping site.

The incident did not happen at AfrikaBurn

“While the individuals concerned had not checked into the event site, and we can’t confirm them as attendees, we encourage everyone to familiarise themselves with the equipment they are using when they are camping. For those planning to attend AfrikaBurn with no previous camping experience, we strongly encourage people to team up with experienced campers.

“Our hearts go out to the friends, family and anyone impacted.”

Earlier, Netwerk24 reported on 12-year-old Zariskia Czovek who was found deceased in March last year in the bathroom of a guest house just outside Polokwane after she presumably suffered carbon monoxide poisoning.