Security officers carry a woman out from the site of a stampede at the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, on “Mauni Amavasya” or new moon day during the Maha Kumbh festival, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Associated Press)
PRAYAGRAJ, India — At least 30 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering early Wednesday, police said, as millions of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred waters during the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India.
Police officer Vaibhav Krishna in Prayagraj city said another 60 injured were rushed to hospitals.
Wednesday was a sacred day in the six-week Hindu festival, and authorities expected a record 100 million devotees to engage in a ritual bath at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers. Hindus believe that a dip at the holy site can cleanse them of past sins and end the process of reincarnation.
The stampede happened when pilgrims tried to jump barricades erected for a procession of holy men, Uttar Pradesh state’s top elected official, Yogi Adityanath, said in a televised statement.
The event's main draw is the thousands of ash-smeared Hindu ascetics who make massive processions toward the confluence to bathe.
Indian authorities took more than 16 hours to release casualty figures, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged the loss of lives, calling the incident “extremely sad” and extending his condolences.
“Suddenly there was pushing in the crowd, and we got trapped. A lot of us fell down and the crowd went uncontrolled,” the Press Trust of India news agency quoted pilgrim Sarojini as saying. “There was no chance for escape, there was pushing from all sides,” she said.
Distressed families lined up outside a makeshift hospital, desperate for news of missing loved ones. Clothes, blankets and backpacks were strewn around the site of the stampede.
Millions continued to throng the 4,000-hectare (15-square mile) pilgrimage site despite the stampede, even as police urged them over megaphones to avoid the confluence. Adityanath urged people to take baths at other riverbanks instead.
“The situation is now under control, but there is a massive crowd of pilgrims,” Adityanath said, adding that 90 million to 100 million pilgrims were at the site.
About 30 million people had taken the holy bath by 8 a.m. Wednesday, he said.
The Maha Kumbh festival, held every 12 years, started on Jan. 13. Authorities expect more than 400 million people to throng the pilgrimage site in total. Nearly 150 million people have already attended, including Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah and celebrities like Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
A sprawling tent city has been built on the riverbanks to accommodate the millions of visitors, with roads, electricity and water, 3,000 kitchens and 11 hospitals.
About 50,000 security personnel are stationed in the city to maintain law and order and manage crowds, and more than 2,500 cameras monitor crowd movement and density so officials can try to prevent such crushes.
Several opposition leaders criticized the federal and the state government, both led by Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party, and blamed the stampede on “mismanagement” and “VIP culture” — the latter referring to what they say is preferential treatment for politicians and celebrities.
“The government should make better arrangements to meet the needs of common devotees,” Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi wrote on social platform X.
The 45-day festival is a significant cultural event for India’s Hindus, who make up nearly 80% of the country’s more than 1.4 billion people. It's also a prestige event for Modi, whose ruling party boasts of promoting Hindu cultural symbols.
The Maha Kumbh festival has had stampedes in the past. In 2013, at least 40 pilgrims who were taking part in the festival were killed in a stampede at a train station in Prayagraj.
Deadly stampedes are relatively common around Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas. In July at least 116 people died, most of them women and children, when thousands at a religious gathering in northern India stampeded at a tent camp in Hathras town.
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A volunteer helps people to look for their valuables after a stampede when Hindu devotees rushed to take a holy bath in the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, on “Mauni Amavasya” or new moon day during the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Associated Press)
Security officers guide devotees into an ambulance at the site of a stampede on the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, on “Mauni Amavasya” or new moon day during the Maha Kumbh festival, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Associated Press)
An injured girl reacts as she is being treated at a hospital after a stampede when Hindu devotees rushed to take a holy bath in the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, during the Maha Kumbh festival, in Prayagraj, India, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Associated Press)
A woman injured in a stampede is helped into an ambulance by the banks of the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, on Mauni Amavasya' or new moon day during the Maha Kumbh festival, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Associated Press)
Hindu devotees take a holy dip by the banks of the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, on “Mauni Amavasya” or new moon day during the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Associated Press)
An ambulance leaves the site of a stampede at the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, on Mauni Amavasya' or new moon day during the Maha Kumbh festival, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Associated Press)
A Hindu devotee takes a holy dip on the banks of the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, on “Mauni Amavasya” or new moon day during the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Associated Press)
Security officers stand guard at the site of a stampede on the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, on “Mauni Amavasya” or new moon day during the Maha Kumbh festival, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Associated Press)
Hindu devotees try to cross a barricade to take a holy dip in the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, on “Mauni Amavasya” or new moon day during the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Associated Press)
Hindu devotees stand behind a barricade and wait to take a holy dip in the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, on “Mauni Amavasya” or new moon day during the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Associated Press)
A woman who was injured in a stampede when Hindu devotees rushed to take a holy bath in the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, during the Maha Kumbh festival, receives treatment at a hospital in Prayagraj, India, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Associated Press)
A police official monitors the movement of people at the control room after a stampede when Hindu devotees rushed to take a holy bath in the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, on “Mauni Amavasya” or new moon day during the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Associated Press)
Hindu devotees gather to take a holy dip in the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, on “Mauni Amavasya” or new moon day during the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Associated Press)
Hindu devotees pray after taking a holy dip in the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, on “Mauni Amavasya” or new moon day during the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Associated Press)
