- At least 30 people were killed, and 60 more wounded in Stamped at the Maha Kumbh Festival, a six -week Hindu festival and the largest religious gathering in the world.
- Stampede happened when pilgrims tried to jump barricades to get involved in a ritual bath in holy waters at the mouth of the Ganges, Yamuna and the Mitian River Saraswati.
- Authorities have announced that 90 million to 100 million pilgrims have been on the site and expect to visit more than 400 million people during the festival.
At least 30 people were killed, and many more injured in Stamped at the world’s largest religious gathering early Wednesday, police said, while millions of pilgrims rushed to immerse themselves in Saints during the MAHA KUBH Festival in northern India.
Police officer Vaibhav Krishna in the town of Moyagraj said he had 60 more injured to hospitals.
Wednesday was a holy day at the six -week Hindu festival, and the authorities expected that a record 100 million devotees would be involved in a ritual bath at the mouth of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Sarazwati rivers. Hindus believes that the fall in the holy place can clear them from past sins and end the reincarnation process.
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Stampede happened when the pilgrims tried to jump the barricades erected because of the parade of holy people, said the highest -elected official of the state of Uttar Pradesh, the state of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, in a television statement.
The main draw of events are thousands of Hindu ascetics that are full of ashes that make up huge processions according to the mouth to bathe.
It took the Indian authorities more than 16 hours to release the figures in the victims, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi He confessed to the loss of life, called the incident “extremely sad” and stretched out his condolences.
A woman injured in Stamped at the MAHA KUMBH Festival is carried out by Sangama security officers, Ganges’ mouth, Yamuna and mythical River Saraswati, “Mauni Amavasya” or Day of the New Moon, in Moyagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, January 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
“Suddenly there were pushing in the crowd, and we were captured. There were many of us, and the crowd went uncontrollably,” the journalistic agency Press Trust of India, pilgrims Sarojini, quoted. “There was no chance to escape, there was pushing on all sides,” she said.
Families with distress are lined up in front of an improvised hospital, desperate for news of missing loved ones. Clothing, blankets and backpacks were scattered around the place of Stampede.
Millions continued to pile up the place of pilgrimage of 15 square kilometers despite the stampede, even while police invited them to megaphones to avoid their mouths. Adityanaanaath urged people to bathe on other shores instead.
The Hindu Bhakt dipped everything with holy waters during the Kumbh Muha Kumbh Festival in Moyagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, January 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Deepak Sharma)
“The situation is now under control, but there is a huge pile of pilgrims,” Adityanaanath said, adding that there were 90 million to 100 million pilgrims at the point.
About 30 million people have reached the Holy Bath on Wednesday, he said.
Festival Maha Kumbhheld every 12 years, started on January 13th. Authorities expect more than 400 million people to transfer the place of pilgrimage to a total of pilgrimages. Nearly 150 million people have already attended, including Rajnath Singh Defense Minister and General Minister Amit Shah and celebrities like Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
A spacious city of tent was built on the coastal city city, which will receive millions of visitors, with roads, electricity and water, 3,000 kitchens and 11 hospitals.
The Hindu Bhakt gathering at the Holy River where Stampedo took place during the Kumbh Molagraj Festival in Molagraj, India, January 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
About 50,000 security staff were stationed in the city to maintain the law and resources and manage the crowds, and more than 2,500 models of monito movement and density density so that officers could try to prevent such crushs.
Several opposition leaders have criticized the Federal and State Government, both under the guidance of Modi’s Hindu nationalist National Party of Bharatiya Janana, and blamed Stampede for “Bad Management” and “VIP Culture” – the latter refers to what they say is a preferential treatment for politicians and celebrities.
“The government should agree better to meet the needs of the common devotee,” wrote the Indian Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on the social platform X.
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The 45-day festival is a significant cultural event for Indian Hinduswhich make up almost 80% more than 1.4 billion people. It is also a prestigious event for fashion, whose ruling party boasts by promoting Hindu cultural symbols.
The Kumbh Maha Festival has imprinted in the past. In 2013, at least 40 pilgrims who participated in the festival were killed in Stamped at the Moyagraj train station.
Deadly stamps are relatively common around Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas. In July, at least 116 people died, most of whom are women and children, when thousands are at a religious gathering in northern India imprinted in a tent camp in Hathras.
