A deadly stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest religious gathering, left at least seven people dead and dozens injured in the early hours of Wednesday, according to an unnamed official. However, local authorities have yet to confirm the casualties.
The incident occurred as massive crowds rushed to take a pre-dawn dip at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers—a ritual believed to absolve sins and grant liberation from the cycle of life and death.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos, with people falling and being trampled as crowds surged toward the river. "We saw people falling, lying on top of one another, and crushing others in search of a safe place," said Shweta Tripathi, a festival attendee from Uttar Pradesh.
By Tuesday, nearly 200 million people had attended the 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela, which is expected to draw around 400 million over its six-week duration. Visuals from the site showed scattered belongings, distressed attendees searching for lost items, and some carrying containers filled with holy water.
Abhishek Kumar, another attendee, recounted the lack of crowd control. "Some were returning after their dip while others rushed forward, leading to a crush. There was no coordination," he told ABP news. He and others carried injured women to a makeshift hospital, unsure if they had survived.
Authorities have not yet issued an official statement on the cause of the stampede or the number of casualties.
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