15 People Killed in a Stampede at Hindu Mega-Festival: India

Wed Jan 29 2025
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Key points

  • Rescuers and worshippers were seen evacuating victims
  • Deadly crowd deaths are a notorious feature of Indian religious festivals
  • The six-week festival is the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar
  • UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asked pilgrims to follow instructions

ISLAMABAD: A stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering in India resulted in the deaths of at least 15 people with many more injured, a doctor at the Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj told media on Wednesday.

“At least 15 people have died for now. Others are being treated,” said the doctor in Prayagraj City, speaking anonymously as they were not authorized to talk to the media, according to BBC.

A journalist saw rescuers and worshippers evacuating victims from the place and people climbing over a barrier.

Deadly crowd deaths are a notorious characteristic of Indian religious festivals, and the Kumbh Mela, with its unfathomable throngs of devotees, already had a scary track record of deadly crowd crushes before this new incident overnight.

Stampede starts

Local government official Akanksha Rana told the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency that the stampede started after crowd control obstacles “broke.”
The six-week festival is the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar. On Wednesday, millions of people were expected to attend a sacred day of ritual bathing at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.

Meanwhile, in his first comments, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asked pilgrims at the Kumbh Mela to follow instructions issued by officials at the site and cooperate with them.

“Take a dip at the nearest ghat [river bank], do not try to go towards the Sangam Nose,” the chief minister posted on X.

“People are bathing peacefully at all the ghats of Sangam. Do not pay any attention to any rumours,” he added. It’s not clear what rumours he was referring to.

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