At least 30 people died in a stampede at the Kumbh Mela, the world's largest religious gathering, in Prayagraj, India. The incident occurred as a surging crowd rushed to participate in a sacred day of ritual bathing, overwhelming police cordons and trampling bystanders.
A pre-dawn stampede at the world's largest religious gathering, the Kumbh Mela , claimed at least 30 lives in Prayagraj , India , on Wednesday, leaving many more injured. The incident occurred as a surging crowd, rushing to participate in a sacred day of ritual bathing , spilled out of a police cordon and trampled bystanders. Pilgrims sleeping and sitting on the ground near the rivers told AFP that they were crushed by immense waves of devotees surging forward in the darkness.
'The entire crowd fell on top of me, trampling me as it moved forward,' said pilgrim Renu Devi, 48. 'When the crowd surged, elderly people and women were crushed, and no one came forward to help.' Rescue teams retrieved victims from the accident site, navigating through piles of discarded belongings. Police were seen carrying stretchers bearing the bodies of victims draped in blankets. 'Thirty devotees have unfortunately died,' senior police officer Vaibhav Krishna told reporters during an evening news conference at the festival. 'Ninety injured were taken to the hospital.' This briefing came nearly 18 hours after the stampede and marked the first official death toll given by authorities.Festivities continued largely as normal throughout the day, with millions still making their way to the riverbanks to immerse themselves in the water. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his 'deepest condolences' to the families of those killed and wished for the 'speedy recovery of all injured,' calling the stampede 'extremely sad.' Dozens of relatives anxiously awaited news outside a large tent serving as a purpose-built hospital near the disaster site. The six-week Kumbh Mela is the most significant event on the Hindu religious calendar. Wednesday marked one of the holiest days in the festival, when saffron-clad holy men lead millions in a sin-cleansing ritual of bathing at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, coinciding with a planetary alignment in the Solar System. Officials had attempted to divert crowds away from the disaster site, urging them to bathe at alternative locations. 'We humbly request all devotees do not come to the main bathing spot,' pleaded one festival staffer through a megaphone. 'Please cooperate with security personnel.' But even as news of the stampede spread, crowds pushed through cordons to reach the river, ignoring aggressive orders from police to turn back. Officials from the Uttar Pradesh state government, responsible for staging the festival, stated that millions had participated in the ritual bathing throughout the day. Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi blamed the disaster on poor crowd control that prioritized the comfort of distinguished visitors. 'Mismanagement and the administration's special focus on VIP movement instead of common devotees are responsible for this tragic incident,' he wrote on social media. Railway police superintendent Ashtabhuja Singh informed AFP that special train services taking pilgrims to Prayagraj were still operating, contrary to earlier reports that they had been halted due to overcrowding in the city. As pilgrims continued to stream towards the festival, some decided to leave. 'My family got scared, so we're leaving,' attendee Sanjay Nishad told AFP. The Kumbh Mela is deeply rooted in a mythological Hindu battle between deities and demons for control of a pitcher containing the nectar of immortality. Organizers have likened the scale of this year's festival to a temporary country, forecasting up to 400 million pilgrims would visit before the final day on February 26. Police this year installed hundreds of cameras at the festival site and on roads leading to the sprawling encampment, mounted on poles and a fleet of overhead drones. The surveillance network feeds into a sophisticated command and control centre designed to alert staff if sections of the crowd become dangerously concentrated. 'If you see advertisements it seems like the government is providing world-class facilities,' said university student Ruchi Bharti, not far from the riverbank. 'But this stampede proved that was all a lie.' More than 400 people died after being trampled or drowned at the Kumbh Mela on a single day of the festival in 1954, one of the largest tolls in a crowd-related disaster globally. Another 36 people were crushed to death in 2013, the last time the festival was held in Prayagraj
Kumbh Mela Stampede India Prayagraj Religious Festival Crowd Control Disaster Death Toll Pilgrims Ritual Bathing
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