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.

PRAYAGRAJ, India — At least 30 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering early Wednesday, police said, as millions of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred waters during the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India.

At least 17 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India early Wednesday, a doctor at a government hospital said.

Hindu devotees, mystics and holy men and women have gathered in India's northern city of Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh festival, the world's largest religious gathering.

The Hindu festival that turned deadly in northern India on Wednesday is a religious gathering with deep spiritual meaning for devotees who come by the millions to take a cleansing dip in waters they consider sacred.

Millions of devout Hindus thronged the northern Indian city of Prayagraj on Thursday for the Maha Kumbh festival, a day after dozens died in a stampede on the most auspicious day of the six-week event.

Millions of Hindus are gathering in a northern Indian city for the Maha Kumbh festival, the world’s largest religious congregation.