Tragedy Strikes the Maha Kumbh Mela: Deadly Stampede Claims Dozens of Lives

A stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India led to the deaths of at least 30 individuals during the festival's most auspicious day. The event saw tens of millions of devotees gather to bathe in the sacred river confluence, with crowd management failures and injuries marking the tragedy.

A tragic stampede during the early hours at the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India claimed the lives of at least 30 people, according to state authorities, with more unconfirmed reports raising the toll to nearly 40. On what was the six-week Hindu festival's most significant day, massive crowds gathered for a holy dip.

The Moti Lal Nehru Medical College morgue was inundated, holding 39 bodies as officials struggled to identify and transfer them to grieving families. Police efforts to control the chaos at the world's largest religious gathering were criticized amid accusations of poor crowd management and route closures, contributing to the disaster.

Witnesses recounted harrowing scenes of chaos as crowds surged towards the sacred site's river confluence. Distraught families pointed fingers at authorities for the tragedy, with senior police officers attempting to restore order in the aftermath. Critics have cited VIP considerations and the government's poor planning for exacerbating the calamity.

(With inputs from agencies.)