State authorities said at least 30 people were killed and 60 were injured in the pre-dawn stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India on Wednesday, as tens of millions gathered to take a dip in sacred river waters on the most auspicious day of the festival.
Three police sources and a Reuters witness put the toll at nearly 40.
Hindu devotees search for their belongings after a stampede during the Maha Kumbh festival. (AP PHOTO)
Reuters counted 39 bodies inside the morgue of the local hospital. One of the three police sources and a fourth officer said all 39 were stampede victims. All three police sources said nearly 40 bodies had been brought to the morgue.
Bodies were still being brought to the Moti Lal Nehru Medical College hospital morgue more than 12 hours after the tragedy at the world's biggest gathering of humanity.
"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.
Senior police officer Vaibhav Krishna told reporters that 90 people were taken to the hospital after the stampede, of whom 30 died and the rest were being treated.
Distraught relatives queued up to identify those killed by the stampede, which occurred when crowds surged towards the confluence of three rivers, where immersion is considered particularly sacred.
The state government praised the police and said their "swift and effective response ... prevented a potential tragedy".
"The police acted quickly to restore order and ensure the safety of the pilgrims, significantly minimising the situation's impact," it said in the first official statement from authorities about the stampede.
Security officers guide devotees into an ambulance at the site of the stampede in Uttar Pradesh. (AP PHOTO)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to "devotees who have lost their loved ones", without specifying the number of dead.
At the scene after the stampede, some people sat on the ground crying, while others stepped over belongings left by those trying to escape the crush.
The Hindu festival is expected to draw some 400 million people overall, according to officials, compared with the Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia which drew 1.8 million in 2024
By Tuesday, nearly 200 million people had attended the festival since it started two weeks ago, officials said, adding that more than 57 million had taken a holy dip on Wednesday alone.
Devout Hindus believe taking a dip at the confluence of three sacred rivers - the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the mythical, invisible Saraswati - absolves people of sins and, during the Kumbh, also brings salvation from the cycle of life and death.
Social media posts spoke of heavy traffic congestion on roads leading into Prayagraj as authorities tried to manage the crowd, leaving several people stranded.
"I planned this trip for over a year, but I've been stuck in traffic for 19 hours," American travel blogger Drew Binsky said on Instagram, where he has more than 1.2 million followers.
A volunteer helps people look for their valuables after the Hindu festival stampede. (AP PHOTO)
Opposition parties blamed the stampede on what they called the government's "mismanagement" and "VIP culture".
"VIP culture should be curbed and the government should make better arrangements to meet the needs of common devotees," Rahul Gandhi, leader of main opposition Congress party, said on X, referring to politicians and celebrities being treated differently.
A similar stampede on the most auspicious day of the festival when it was last held in 2013 had killed at least 36 pilgrims.
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