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.

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.

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.

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.

After a crowd crush killed dozens of people at the world's largest religious gathering, questions have been raised about security and crowd control at massive events in India.

Millions of devout Hindus thronged the northern Indian city of Prayagraj on Thursday (Jan 30) for the Maha Kumbh festival, a day after dozens died in a stampede in the holy centre on the most

At least 30 people have been killed and dozens more injured in crowd crushes at the Maha Kumbh Mela in India, where millions have gathered to bathe at the confluence of sacred rivers.

A delegation of 73 foreign diplomats visited the Maha Kumbh Mela, praising the arrangements and expressing their happiness.