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15 dead in Stampede at the religious festival in India

15 dead in Stampede at the religious festival in India

Pilgrims gather at the intersection of Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers in Prayagraj on January 29, 2025 (photo of Niharik Kulkarnia / AFP)

Prayagraj, India: Stampede before dawn at the world’s largest religious meeting killed at least 15 people in India on Wednesday, with many more wounded after the growing crowd spilled out of the police cordon and promenades.

Fatal incidents are frequent at Indian religious festivals, including Kumbh Mela, which attracts tens of millions of lovers every 12 years to the northern city of Prayagraj.

When the pilgrims rushed to take part on the holy day of ritual bath, people sleeping and sitting on earth near the rivers told AFP that they were trampled by huge swelling of admirers approaching them in the dark.

“I was sitting near the barricade, and while pushing and pushing the whole crowd fell on me, trampling me when he was moving forward,” said 48 -year -old Pilgrim Rhine Devi.

“When the crowd increased, the elderly and women were crushed and nobody came to help.”

Rescue teams carrying victims from the accident site sailed through piles of clothes, shoes and other rejected things.

The police were seen wearing the bodies of victims wrapped in thick blankets.

“At least 15 people” were killed from dozens of wounded, a doctor in a hospital, which aimed at people who survived, said AFP, speaking anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The authorities still have to officially confirm the number of the dead in Stampede, which took place around 1 am (Tuesday GMT in 1930).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the accident was “extremely sad” and offered his “deepest condolences” to relatives of the dead.

“I wish you a quick recovery of all wounded,” he added.

Dozens of relatives were anxiously waiting for news in front of a large tent, serving as a specially built hospital for a festival of about one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the place of disaster.

“Please cooperate”

The six -week Kumbh Mela is the largest milestone in the Hindu religious calendar.

Wednesday is one of the Holy Day at the festival, when saints dressed with saffron lead millions in a ritual of cleaning the sin of bathing in the intersection of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.

Instead, the officials walked around the festival, and the loudspeakers reached the pilgrims to keep them far from the disaster and bathing in other locations.

“We humbly ask that all devotees do not come to the main place of bathing,” said one of the festival employees, his voice is bursting through his megaphone.

“Please cooperate with the security staff.”

The Uttar Pradesh state, responsible for issuing the festival, said that millions were already bathing in the water roads between the north and early morning.

The Chief Minister of Yogi Adityanath told reporters that medical workers treat people seriously injured during sympathy, adding that the situation was “controlled”.

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Indian opposition, blamed the disaster for poor crowd management, which priority treated the comfort of outstanding pilgrims.

“Failure to come and special pressure on the VIP movement instead of universal admirers are responsible for this tragic incident,” he wrote on social media.

“My family got scared”

Manish Kumar, a railway officer, said that numerous special trains planned for the transport of pilgrims were detained due to a huge crowded in Prayagraj.

Some lovers decided to make an early way out of the city.

“I heard messages and saw a bathing site,” AFP said Sanjay Nishad participant.

“My family stopped, so we’re leaving.”