According to officials, the incident resulted in over seven fatalities and approximately ten injuries.
Tens of millions of people attended the Maha Kumbh Mela, also known as the Great Pitcher Festival, in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. According to an official, a stampede at the event resulted in over seven fatalities and approximately ten injuries.
Millions of people arrived shoulder to shoulder in the pre-dawn darkness on Wednesday to commemorate the Maha Kumbh Mela, according to drone footage.
Following the stampede, footage and photos showed individuals sitting on the ground sobbing and bodies being removed on stretchers, as others stepped over a carpet of abandoned items left by people trying to flee the crowd.
As he followed dozens of ambulances racing towards the riverbank where the event took place, a witness for the Reuters news agency noticed multiple dead bodies.
Although the cause of the initial stampede, which happened at around one in the morning local time, was not known, officials claimed it was “not serious.”
Witnesses, however, reported that those attempting to flee were ensnared in yet another crush at an exit. After that, they headed back toward the pontoon bridges in search of an other exit, but discovered that it had been blocked by the government.
Ravin, who only provided his first name, said, “I saw many people falling and getting walked on by the crowd…many children and women getting lost, crying for help.” Ravin had traveled from Mumbai, the financial center, for the festival.
According to officials, rescue operations were in progress and a Rapid Action Force (RAF), a specialized squad called in during emergencies, had been sent in to put the situation under control.
According to news agency ANI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for “immediate support measures” in a conversation with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Similar occurrences
Over 400 million Indians and foreign guests attend the six-week-long Maha Kumbh Mela religious event.
Since it started two weeks ago, the Hindu celebration has already attracted almost 148 million visitors every day.
Large crowds congregate in cramped spaces with inadequate infrastructure and scant safety precautions during Indian religious festivals, which frequently result in stampedes.
At least 36 people, largely women, were killed in a similar stampede that occurred on the festival’s most auspicious day in 2013.
