- Local officials claim not less than 38 people and as many as 100 are feared dead
Pilgrims desperately searching for their missing loved ones and belongings after deadly crushes in Prayagraj where the world’s largest religious gathering, the Maha Kumbh Mela festival, is taking place
Not less than 38 people and as many as 100 are feared to have died in a stampede in the early hours of Wednesday as people went to bathe in a river as part of a Hindu ritual taking place in Prayagraj.
Local officials said many were crushed at about 4 am on Wednesday as people surged forward in three separate areas at the confluence of the rivers in the city of Prayagraj which is the holiest place to bathe.
The scale of the tragedy is still unclear but reports of the death toll in Prayagraj, the city where the Hindu festival takes place, continued to vary and the government is yet to give an official toll
While local officials have said that about 38 are dead and still counting, one doctor told AFP that the number so far recorded by the medical personnel is about 15 people.
It appears that more than one crush took place, although details are unclear. The initial crush appears to have occurred at the bank of the Sangam, the holy confluence of three rivers when people trying to bathe began falling over people sitting or lying by the river. People trying to escape were then caught in another crush.
Religious leaders have called on pilgrims to avoid heading to the Sangam today and to take baths instead at other points along the river. Similarly, the Akharas, or sects of sadhus (holy people), have officially cancelled their bathing today which was due to start around 4 am.
Images from the site showed scenes of chaos, with people stumbling over heaps of belongings as they tried to leave and security forces struggling to manage large crowds. Images also showed bodies lying on the ground.
People were still searching for loved ones lost in the stampede hours later, gathering at the missing persons tent and the hospital where the dead and injured were taken.
Authorities had expected a record 100 million people to take a holy dip on Wednesday, considered the most auspicious day due to a rare alignment of celestial bodies after 144 years. The Hindu festival has already seen gigantic daily crowds, with nearly 148 million people attending since it officially flagged off about two weeks ago.
In the buildup to the festival, which will continue till 26 February, fervent colourful processions marked the arrival of the 13 akharas, the ancient monastic sects of warrior sadhus who travel from across the country to participate in the spectacle.
There has historically been fierce competition and bloodshed between the Akharas, whose members have fought violently on many occasions and died in their thousands over who gets to take part in the holy bathing ritual first.
The scale and grandeur of this year’s festivities are expected to exceed all previous iterations, in a nod to the Kumbh Mela’s religious but also political significance. This is seen to have become more overt under the current Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, which rules in the centre of the country and Uttar Pradesh – With The Guardian report
