The sudden death of a New Zealand man at a United States desert event is being attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Kiwi Shane Billingham was found unresponsive in his van at the Burning Man gathering in the Black Rock Desert north of Reno, Nevada yesterday.

Billingham, 33, who grew up on Great Barrier Island, was pronounced dead at an on-site medical facility at Burning Man, according to the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner.

A spokesperson for the Burning Man organisation said Billingham was discovered unresponsive in his vehicle at his camp, Beats Boutique, at about 6.30pm that night, according to the Reno Gazette.

Bystanders immediately began CPR and emergency responders arrived shortly after.

New Zealander Shane Billingham has died suddenly at a famous event in the United States. Photo / Facebook

Billingham was transferred to Burning Man's onsite emergency care centre where he was declared dead by an on-duty emergency physician shortly after.

Today, the Washoe County Medical Examiner's Office said a post-mortem found Billingham had a concentration of carbon monoxide in his blood that would be considered "poisonous to human life".

Steve MacWithey, lead of Beats Boutique camp where Billingham was staying, told the Reno Gazette Billingham was one of his best friends.

"He was one of the best people I've ever known."

He described Billingham as happy, beautiful and loving. He said several friends had stopped by to visit Billingham that evening and found him in the van unresponsive, the Reno Gazette reported.