Multiple people killed in stampede at world’s largest religious festival in India

Multiple people were killed in a crowd crush at the world’s largest religious gathering in India early Wednesday, as tens of millions of devotees went to bathe in a river on one of the most sacred days of a Hindu festival.

An official source at a local hospital told CNN they had received 14 bodies around 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday. About 20 people were also being treated for minor injuries, the source added, News.Az reports, citing CNN.

Indian authorities have not confirmed the number of casualties. Akanksha Rana, special executive officer for the festival, said early Wednesday that “several people” had been injured and taken to hospital but that officials were still assessing the extent of the damage.

The crush at the Maha Kumbh Mela in the city of Prayagraj occurred after a barrier near the river broke, Rana said.

Reuters and local media reported witnesses seeing several dead bodies near the river bank where the incident occurred, and photos from Reuters showed bodies being carried from the site on stretchers.

Video by the news agency showed ambulances racing through huge crowds of people and casualties being brought to a nearby hospital. Security personnel could be seen helping devotees as scattered blankets and belongings lay strewn on the ground.

Speaking to local media, devotees said the incident took place around 1:30 a.m. local time and described chaotic scenes with people running in different directions and others falling over. Witnesses said families were separated in the surge of people and some remain missing.

“Suddenly, there was a huge crowd and we got stuck somehow. People started pushing aggressively and we fell,” one woman told local media from outside the hospital.

The incident occurred as about 100 million Hindu devotees from around the world were expected to visit the site on Wednesday and take a holy dip in the sacred waters in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, according to local media reports.

Wednesday marks Mauni Amavasya, one of the most significant days of the Maha Kumbh Mela festival, when followers come to bathe in the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of three holy rivers – the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati – to purify their sins and take another step closer to “spiritual liberation.”

Drone footage shared by Reuters showed huge numbers of people already arriving at the site in the early hours.

The festival is considered the world’s largest peaceful gathering of people. Over six weeks, a staggering 400 million people are expected to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela, or the festival of the Sacred Pitcher, on the banks of Prayagraj.

News.Az