A stampede at the massive Maha Kumbh festival in northern India’s Prayagraj early Wednesday left several people feared dead and many others injured as tens of thousands of Hindu devotees rushed to take a holy bath, local media reported.
Distressed families gathered outside a makeshift hospital, searching for missing relatives while rescuers assisted the injured. Police struggled to control the large crowds at the scene, where personal belongings such as clothes, blankets, and backpacks lay scattered. The cause of the panic was unclear, and casualty figures remained unconfirmed. Some reports suggested at least 10 fatalities.
Wednesday marked a significant day in the six-week religious gathering, with authorities expecting a record 100 million pilgrims at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers. The festival’s main attraction includes thousands of ash-covered Hindu ascetics arriving in grand processions to take ritual dips in the sacred waters.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath urged devotees to avoid the confluence and instead use other riverbanks. He did not directly mention the stampede but advised people not to believe in rumors.
The Maha Kumbh festival, held every 12 years, began on January 13 and is the world’s largest religious event, with more than 400 million visitors expected in total. To accommodate the crowds, authorities constructed a vast tent city with 3,000 kitchens, 150,000 toilets, roads, electricity, water supply, communication towers, and 11 hospitals.
Security has been a priority, with 50,000 personnel deployed to maintain order and prevent incidents. Over 2,500 cameras, some equipped with AI, have been installed to monitor crowd density and movement, allowing officials to quickly respond to potential hazards.
The festival has witnessed deadly incidents in the past. In 2013, at least 40 pilgrims died in a stampede at a Prayagraj train station. Stampedes are common at Indian religious gatherings, where overcrowding and inadequate infrastructure create dangerous conditions.
In July 2023, at least 116 people—mostly women and children—died in a stampede at a religious event in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh.
