Thirty killed in Crush at the Kumbh Mela Indian Festival

At least 30 people They were killed in demolition at the world’s largest religious gathering, the Hindu Kumbh Mela Festival in northern India, officials say.

The incident happened early Wednesday, when other pilgrims who rushed to participate in the Holy Day of Ritual Bathing were burned on the coasts in the town of Moayagraj.

Another 60 people were injured, the police said. Most of the day, official figures were supposed to emerge due to accidents, which encouraged opposition leaders to accuse authorities of lack of transparency.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent condolences to those who lost their loved ones. Many pilgrims are still looking for news about relatives and friends.

Police said 90 injured people were taken to hospitals. “Unfortunately, 30 of these devotes died,” High policeman Vaibhav Krishna said on Wednesday night at a press conference.

He said 25 dead were identified.

Earlier that day, BBC reporters witnessed the chaos scenes, with clothing, shoes, blankets and backpacks on the ground as they were crowded with the scene of the accident.

“People were going in every direction,” said Ayesha Mishra’s eyewitness for BBC. “They were pushed and fell. The children were demolished from the crowd.”

Videos and photos from the scene have shown people on the ground, their bruises and faces covered with mud. Some were carried out on the stretcher, while the ambulance installed and left the tent city that were set up for the event.

For hours there was a confusion about the number of people who died or injured.

The main hospital was cordonated and journalists were banned at the entrance. Yogi Adityanaanath, Chief Minister of the State of Uttar Pradesh – where Prayagraj is located – spoke of serious injuries, but did not mention death.

Prime Minister Modi admitted that there were deaths, but he did not say how much.

“I want a quick recovery of all the injured,” he said in a post on X, calling the incident “extremely sad.”

The news of the accident has discouraged a little huge crowds that have shifted the place – more than 50 million bathed at 14:00 local time (08: 30gmt), according to the Government data.

Kumbh Mela happens every 12 years in Sangama, the mouth of three holy rivers – Ganges (ganga), Yamuna and mythical Saraswati. Hindus believe that swimming in holy waters will purify their sins and help them achieve salvation.

Although the Holy Bath is a major draw, the event is also a lively carnival of faith, where people from all layers of life, including ascents, politicians and celebrities, get close.

Crowds from all over the country – and the world – arrive in Moyagraj to participate in the festival that started on January 13th and will continue until February 26. Some came alone, others with their family, including children and the elderly.

Wednesday was the biggest and most important day of bathing the festival, and officials assessed the crowds of up to 100 million people. It is also the day of Shahi dream – or the royal baths – which shows thousands of ascetics ash that immersed themselves in the river.

By Tuesday night, the crowds had already started to increase, and the air was bypassed the place. Ecstatic devotees sang and danced in large and colorful processions. And people were looking forward to getting into the next morning.

But the celebrations soon turned into a moment of horror.

The news of Crusus first corrupted between 01:00 and 02:00 Local Time (19: 30-20: 20 GMT) when many ambulances were seen as they enter and leave the place.

The investigators said the BBC that the devotees were sleeping around the barricades of the Sangam nose – the point of the mouth of the river – when the crowd ran toward them, which led to sympathy.

People started running confusedly, and many of them were injured. Other clothes had torn.

“The crowds were so huge that people were digging on each other. Me and my family, we all fell,” said the Singh Poonh, a devotee, who came with seven of her relatives, who all disappeared.

“I lost all my money, my things and I can’t find my family anywhere,” she added.

The uncertainty about what happened was added chaos. Many bhaktians said they felt something wrong, but they decided to continue anyway because the authorities were not a certificate of the situation.

The first announcements were published around 04:00, when officials began to ask people to stop going to the nose of Sangam and instead dip on the nearest river bank they could find.

But that did not change much – until then, the paths that led to Sangs were already charged.

Tens of thousands of people continued to continue – and they were still doing so, hours after the accident.

Ascetics have previously said they would cancel their appearance, but later they headed to bathe in Sangamo, although the processions had decreased.

For many pilgrims, the search for loved ones stretched over the day and continued into the night. Many stayed at the scene of the accident, where slippers, clothing and other victims were covered with mud. The occasional screams of those who grieved through the crowds.

Anita Devi, from the center of Jhansi, said she spent all morning looking for her husband.

“He needs medication, but they are with me. When she cried, I lost his hand and he went in a blink,” she told the BBC.

“It’s been so many hours, but I can’t find it. This year there are so many lost and interested centers that I don’t know where he may have left. I pray very much that he is alive and safe.”

The demolition of crowds are common in India, where there are frequent overcrowding at religious events, festivals and public spaces. Last year, more than 120 people were killed in Hathras County, also in Uttar Pradesh, during a religious gathering.

Officials say the situation on Kumbh Mela is now under control. But Indian opposition leaders criticized the government for demolishing.

“The special focus of poor management, poor management and administration on the VIP movement instead of common devotees is responsible for this tragic incident,” said Rahul Gandhi, the opposition leader in Parliament, in a post on X, calling the incident “extremely sad”.

Some pilgrims also blamed power for a disaster.

Ayesha Mishra asked why there was no police presence in which the crumb occurred.

“They stood at the end of the festival, while so many of us collapsed in the middle,” she said.

“We don’t want such a holy dip,” she added. “The government should only ask people to stay home at the moment.”