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.

Officials have just announced that 30 people were killed and 60 were injured during the crush at Kumbh Mela festival. Of those people, 25 have been identified, officials say. People that were involved in the incident include those who travelled from the states of Gujarat and Assam to attend the festival, the officials add.

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.

Indian officials downplayed a deadly stampede at the world’s largest religious festival because they wanted to protect the public image of

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.

Moments before a deadly stampede at the world's biggest religious gathering in India, Hindu devotees queuing to take a spiritual bath in a river said they pleaded with police to open barricaded routes to thin out a surging crowd.