India: Several dead in stampede at Kumbh Mela.
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At least seven people have died and dozens more were injured in a stampede during the world's largest religious festival in India, a gathering where millions of people participate in rituals and offer prayers.
Security personnel carry an injured pilgrim from the site of a stampede during the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj
Dozens of people have been injured in a stampede during the Maha Kumbh festival in India as tens of thousands of people gathered for the religious gathering to offer prayers on the banks of a river in the northern city of Prayagraj, authorities said. on Wednesday.
"Several people were injured and admitted to the hospital after a barrier was broken at Sangam. We do not know the exact number of injured yet," the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency quoted a duty officer, Akanksha, as saying.
Deadly stampede on biggest day of Kumbh Mela
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Several people are said to have died.
Several hours after the chaos, authorities have not announced an official death toll. Nearly 40 bodies were taken to a hospital morgue near the scene of the riot, three police sources told Reuters news agency.
The AFP news agency said at least 15 people were killed and many more injured after a rioting crowd broke through a police cordon and trampled pedestrians.
Videos and photos showed anxious family members waiting outside makeshift hospitals and clothes, bags and jackets strewn on the ground at the site of the chaotic mayhem.
An injured pilgrim is taken to hospital after a stampede during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on January 29, 2025. An injured pilgrim is taken to hospital after a stampede during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on January 29, 2025.
The injured pilgrims were taken to hospital Image: NIHARIKA KULKARNI/AFP
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were also briefed on the situation, news agency PTI reported.
"You all should follow the instructions of the administration and cooperate in taking necessary measures." "People bathe peacefully on all the ghats (river banks) of the Sangam (confluence of rivers)," Adityanath wrote in X.
Millions of pilgrims come to wash away their sins.
The Kumbh Mela is the world's largest gathering of humanity - where families, devotees and elderly pilgrims gather at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers once every 12 years.
Millions of people bathe in the river's waters because they believe the ritual washes away their sins and frees them from the cycle of rebirth.
Hindu devotees pray after taking a holy dip in the Sangam Hindu devotees pray after taking a holy dip in the Sangam
Wednesday marks one of the holiest days of the Kumbh Mela Photo: Deepak Sharma/AP Photo/Photo alliance
This year's festival - whose prefix "maha" means "great" - is considered one of the most sacred and significant, with astrologers saying such an alignment of stars has not occurred in 144 years.
The 45-day festival is a major cultural event for India's Hindus, who make up nearly 80 percent of the country's more than 1.4 billion people. Auspicious day for bathing draws large influx of devotees
Wednesday was a major holy day in the festival, with saffron-clad holy men leading millions in a ritual bathing ritual to cleanse themselves of sin at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. Despite a scuffle, the crowds continued to gather, with police urging them to stay away through megaphones.
Authorities had expected Wednesday to be the busiest day of the festival, as devotees believe bathing on that day offers a unique opportunity to be blessed by their ancestors.
The Uttar Pradesh state government was expecting about 100 million devotees to visit the site, officials said at a press conference earlier in January.
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