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.

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.

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.

Officials had been preparing for months for the world’s largest religious festival, with around 400 million Hindu pilgrims expected to take part

Millions of Hindu devotees gathered on Thursday (January 30) for a holy dip in the sacred river waters of India's northern city of Prayagraj as part of the Kumbh Mela, a day after a stampede at the religious festival.

Families of people who were killed in a crush at a major religious festival in northern India this week are grieving their loss and waiting to take bodies of their relatives back home. At least 30 people died in the crush at the Kumbh Mela on Wednesday,

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.