Indian police said Wednesday that 30 people had been killed and 90 injured in an early morning stampede at the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu mega-festival in the northern city of Prayagraj, APA reports citing AFP.
"Thirty devotees have unfortunately died," senior police officer Vaibhav Krishna told a news conference. "Ninety injured were taken to the hospital."
***09:15***
A stampede at the world's largest religious gathering in India killed at least 15 people with many more injured, a doctor at the Kumbh Mela festival told AFP Wednesday, January 29, APA reports citing Le Monde.
Deadly crowd crushes are a notorious feature of Indian religious festivals and the Kumbh Mela, with its unfathomable throngs of devotees, already had a grim track record before the latest incident in the early hours of the morning. The six-week festival is the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar and millions of people had been expected to participate in a sacred day of ritual bathing on Wednesday.
"At least 15 people have died for now. Others are being treated," said the doctor at the festival site in Prayagraj, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to media.
Rescue teams were seen working with pilgrims to carry victims away from the site of the accident over ground strewn with clothes, shoes and other discarded belongings. Police officers moved through the area carrying stretchers bearing the bodies of victims draped with thick blankets. Dozens of relatives were anxiously waiting for news outside a large tent serving as a purpose-built hospital for the festival around one kilometre (half a mile) from the accident.
Wednesday marks one of the holiest days in the festival when saffron-clad holy men were due to lead millions into a procession of sin-cleansing ritual bathing at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. But instead, officials were strolling the festival site with loudhailers urging pilgrims to keep away from the waterways.
"We humbily request all devotees do not come to the main bathing spot," said one festival staffer, his voice crackling through his megaphone. "Please cooperate with security personnel."
Numerous pilgrims decided to make an early exit from the festival. "I heard the news and saw the bathing site," attendee Sanjay Nishad told AFP. "My family got scared, so we're leaving."
***07:20***
More than seven people were killed and around 10 injured in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India on Wednesday, said an official, as tens of millions gathered to take a holy dip on the most auspicious day of the six-week Hindu festival, APA reports citing Reuters.
Drone footage showed millions of devotees, shoulder to shoulder, arriving in the pre-dawn dark at the temporary township in Prayagraj for the holy dip in a river to mark the most auspicious day of the Maha Kumbh Mela.
Video and photographs after the stampede showed bodies being taken away on stretchers and people sitting on the ground crying, while others stepped over a carpet of discarded belongings left by people as they tried to escape the stampede.
A Reuters witness saw several dead bodies as he followed dozens of ambulances rushing towards the river bank where the incident occurred.
"More than seven people have been killed in the stampede and around 10 others injured," said an official who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Officials said an initial stampede which occurred around 1 a.m. local time (1930 GMT) was "not serious", but its cause was unclear.
However, witnesses said devotees trying to escape it were caught in another stampede at an exit. They then returned towards the pontoon bridges looking for another way out only to find it had been closed by authorities.
"I saw many people falling and getting walked on by the crowd...many children and women getting lost, crying for help," said Ravin, a devotee who gave only his first name and had traveled from the financial capital Mumbai for the festival.
A Rapid Action Force (RAF) - a special unit called in during crisis situations - had been deployed to bring the situation under control and rescue efforts were underway, officials said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and called for "immediate support measures", reported news agency ANI, in which Reuters has a minority stake.
Adityanath also appealed to people to take a dip at the nearest river bank rather than trying to reach the confluence of three rivers where the festival is being held.
"All of you should follow the instructions of the administration and cooperate in making arrangements. People are bathing peacefully at all the ghats (river banks) of Sangam (the confluence of the rivers)," he said on messaging platform X.
Hindus believe that taking a dip at the confluence of three rivers - Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical, invisible Saraswati - absolves them of their sins and confers salvation from the cycle of birth and death.
The world's largest congregation of humanity, the Hindu festival has already seen gigantic daily crowds, with nearly 148 million people attending since it began two weeks ago.
Attendees range from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah to Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and celebrities like Coldplay's Chris Martin and actress Dakota Johnson, who local media reported reached Prayagraj on Tuesday.
Modi was also expected to visit the festival next month.
Authorities had expected a record 100 million people to throng the temporary township in Prayagraj on Wednesday for the holy dip, considered the most auspicious day due to a rare alignment of celestial bodies after 144 years.
The 'royal bath' was called off following the incident.
"All of our saints and seers were ready for the 'snan' (bath) when we were informed about this incident. That is why we have decided to call off our 'snan'," said ascetic Ravindra Puri.
Authorities had undertaken several measures to cater to the enormous crowd, including increased security and medical personnel, and special trains and buses. AI-software was also used to manage the crowds.
A similar stampede had broken out on the most auspicious day of the festival when it was last held in 2013, killing at least 36 pilgrims, mostly women.
