India: Several dead in stampede at Kumbh Mela

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
03:55
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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