A senior police officer said at least 30 people died as a crowd panicked at the Hindu Kumbh Mela mega-festival in the northern city of Prayagraj.

At least 30 people have been killed in a crush at the world's largest religious gathering, the Hindu festival Kumbh Mela in northern India, officials say. The incident took place early on Wednesday when devotees on the riverbanks in the city of Prayagraj were trampled by other pilgrims rushing to take part in a sacred day of ritual bathing.

The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a judicial probe into the deaths of at least 30 people in stampedes at India’s Kumbh Mela festival, where millions of Hindu devotees gathered for a ritual bath at the confluence of three sacred rivers.

More than 100 people were killed in a stampede in northern India in July 2024 following a Hindu religious gathering, making it one of the deadliest such accidents in years. Thousands had gathered at a makeshift tent for an event led by a Hindu preacher in Uttar Pradesh state.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is the second top official after Prime Minister Narendra Modi to offer condolences to the families of those who have lost loved ones in the crush. In a post on X, he called the accident in Prayagraj "extremely painful" and expressed condolences to victims' relatives.

Indian authorities have ordered a probe into the stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela Hindu festival that killed dozens of devotees on Wednesday as millions gathered for a "holy dip" in sacred river waters as part of the six-week event,

Accidents such as the deadly stampede at the Kumbh Mela festival in January 2025 are a notorious feature of Indian religious gatherings, but a video shared online does not show a "huge fire" that injured eight at the mass Hindu mela,

Dozens of worshippers are feared dead and many more injured following a stampede or crush Wednesday at the massive Kumbh Mela religious festival in northern India, according to officials.

More than seven people were killed in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela, or Great Pitcher Festival, in the northern Indian holy city of Prayagraj on Wednesday.

At least 30 people were killed on Wednesday (Jan 29) when a stampede broke out at the world's largest religious festival in India, according to the police.

Dozens of people were killed in a crowd crush at the world’s largest religious gathering in India early Wednesday, as tens of millions of devotees went to bathe in a river on one of the most sacred days of a Hindu festival.