A tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela, the world's largest religious gathering in Prayagraj, India, has resulted in at least 30 fatalities and 90 injuries. The incident occurred as millions of devotees thronged the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers for a sacred dip at dawn. Witnesses recounted a harrowing scene of people falling and being trampled as the massive crowd surged forward.
At least 30 people have died in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela gathering in northern India, state authorities have confirmed. The religious event is the world's largest gathering of humanity with over 200 million people in attendance in the first two weeks. Witnesses have described seeing elderly women fall and watched people walk over them in the stampede.
Bodies, clothes and bags lay scattered on the ground after a deadly stampede at the world's largest gathering of humanity, the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India. India police and state authorities have confirmed there are at least 30 dead and 90 injured in the stampede Earlier, three police sources told Reuters that nearly 40 bodies were brought to a hospital morgue near the site of the stampede. 'More bodies are coming in. We have nearly 40 bodies here. We are transferring them out as well and handing over to families one by one,' one of the sources said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to 'devotees who have lost their loved ones' and said local officials were helping victims 'in every possible way', without specifying the number of dead. Witnesses described a mass of people rushing to take a pre-dawn dip at the confluence of the three sacred rivers — the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the ancient mythical river Saraswati, at Prayagraj. Reuters: Adnan Abidi 'We saw people falling, lying one above another and crushing others to find a safe place,' said Shweta Tripathi, a resident of Sant Kabir Nagar in Uttar Pradesh. 'As we went ahead, we saw clothes, bodies of people, their bags, clothes and other belongings littered around. 'It all happened so fast that I couldn't process it and started crying. Luckily none from my group was hurt and we are all safe.''I don't think I am coming ever again,' she said.) The Maha Kumbh Mela is the world's largest congregation of humanity, attracting some 400 million people over its six weeks. Visuals showed distressed attendees searching for their belongings amid piles of bags, clothes and water bottles thrown around. Abhishek Kumar, who said he also attended the Mela with a few of his relatives, saw people falling because of the crowd that surged to take a dip. 'Some people were returning after taking a dip and others were rushing towards the river. There was absolutely no co-ordination between the two crowds,' he told ABP news channel.'Some of the women in our group were old and they tripped and fell. People walked over them in their hurry to get out.' Kumar said it took him and others more than an hour to get to the makeshift hospital near the site of the festival because of the surging crowds. 'From what we could tell, the women we brought here were not breathing, but we don't know for sure,' he added
MAHA KUMBH MELA STAMDPE INDIA FATALITIES INJURIES RELIGIOUS GATHERING PRAYAGRAJ
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
India’s Maha Kumbh Mela festival gets under way for first time in 144 yearsThe grand version of the 12-yearly Hindu pilgrimage is expected to draw more than 400 million devotees
Read more »
India crowd crushes: dozens feared dead at Kumbh Mela religious festivalPilgrims are desperately searching for missing loved ones after deadly crushes in Prayagraj where world’s largest religious gathering is taking place
Read more »
At least 15 killed in stampede at India's Kumbh Mela festivalEmergency workers have been pictured ferrying people out of the festival on stretchers after a barrier broke, causing a stampede.
Read more »
Dozens feared dead in India at Kumbh Mela religious festivalWitnesses describe surging crowds that crushed people on the banks of the Ganges as they arrived to take a dip at holy site
Read more »
At least 15 people feared dead in crowd crush at India's Kumbh Mela religious festivalA barrier reportedly broke during a holy bath, injuring several devotees at the world's largest religious gathering.
Read more »
Stampede at Maha Kumbh Festival in India Injures DozensA stampede at the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, resulted in dozens of injuries. The incident occurred as tens of thousands of devotees rushed to take a holy bath at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers. Authorities are investigating the cause of the panic.
Read more »