People were hurt and deaths were feared after millions of Hindu pilgrims at the Maha Kumbh Mela, a huge festival in the Indian city of Prayagraj, rushed to bathe in holy river waters on what is considered one of the most auspicious dates in the Hindu calendar.
As pilgrims rushed to the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, which Hindus consider sacred, some people who were sleeping on the ground were trampled and a barrier broke, government officials said.
The Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj occurs every 12 years. Hindus believe that bathing at the spot where the two holy rivers meet, along with a third mythical river called Sarasvati, will purge them of all sins and help them attain salvation. Because of certain favorable celestial alignments, millions more were expected this year at the event, named the “Maha” or Great Kumbh.
The government of the state of Uttar Pradesh, where Prayagraj is, has estimated that around 400 million people will attend the six-week festival from all corners of India. To house them all, the government built a temporary city on the banks of the Ganges, with tents, toilets, streets, pontoon bridges and waste management facilities.
The danger posed by huge crowds has been a frequent problem at the Kumbh Mela. In 2013, 42 people were killed and 45 injured in a crowd crush on a train platform.
Government officials became much more organized and focused on the safety and security of pilgrims after the 2013 incident. This year, the Uttar Pradesh government has employed sophisticated technology to monitor the inflow and outflow of people so that police personnel on the ground can redirect crowds.
Despite the precautions, festival employees and others were encouraging people to go toward the confluence of the rivers, with some even using the public address system to do so. Police officials were unable to clear the bathing areas before more pilgrims rushed in.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
