Dozens of people have been injured in a stampede at Maha Kumbh festival as tens of thousands of people turned out for the religious gathering to offer their prayers by the riverbanks of the northern city of Prayagraj, authorities said on Wednesday.
“Some people have got injured and have been hospitalized after a barrier broke at the Sangam. We are yet to have the exact count of those injured,” news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted an official on duty, Akanksha Rana, as saying.
Several people are feared dead
Hours after the stampede, authorities had not announced any official death toll.
Nearly 40 bodies were brought to a hospital morgue near the site of a stampede, three police sources told the Reuters news agency.
The AFP news agency reported at least 15 people were killed and many more injured after a surging crowd spilled out of a police cordon and .
Videos and photographs show distraught family members waiting outside makeshift hospitals, and clothes, bags, and jackets strewn across the ground at the site of the chaotic crush.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have both been briefed on the situation as well, PTI news agency reported.
“All of you should follow the instructions of the administration and cooperate in making arrangements. People are bathing peacefully at all ghats (river banks) of Sangam (the confluence of the rivers),” Adityanath wrote on X.
Millions of pilgrims head to site to wash away their sins
The of humanity in the world — where families, devotees, and elderly pilgrims gather at the meeting point of rivers Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati once every 12 years.
Millions of people bathe in the river waters because they believe the ritual washes away their sins and frees them from the cycle of rebirth.
This year’s festival — which has the prefix ‘maha’ meaning ‘great’ — is thought to be one of particular significance with astrologers saying that such an alignment of stars hasn’t occurred in 144 years.
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 billionpeople.
Auspicious bathing day sees heavy influx of devotees
Wednesday was a significant holy day in the festival, with saffron-clad holy men leading millions in a sin-cleansing bathing ritual at the Ganges and Yamuna confluence. Despite a stampede, crowds continued to gather, with police urging them to stay away via megaphones.
Authorities expected Wednesday to be the most crowded day of the festival because worshippers believe that bathing on the day offers a unique opportunity to be blessed by ancestors.
The Uttar Pradesh state government expected around 100 million devotees to visit the site, officials had said in a press briefing earlier in January.
mk/rm (AP, AFP, Reuters)
The post India: Several dead after stampede at Kumbh Mela appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
