Stampede at India’s Kumbh Mela Leaves 15 Dead, Many Injured

A stampede at the Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest religious gathering, has left at least 15 people dead and many others injured, a doctor at the festival site told AFP on Wednesday. The tragedy occurred in the early hours of the morning during a sacred ritual bathing day at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in Prayagraj. The Kumbh Mela, which spans six weeks, is one of Hinduism’s most significant religious events, drawing millions of devotees.

At the site of the accident, rescue teams and pilgrims worked together to carry victims, while the ground lay strewn with discarded belongings. Police officers transported bodies on stretchers covered with blankets, and anxious relatives gathered outside a temporary hospital tent set up about a kilometer from the site. The festival, expected to witness a massive turnout on Wednesday, was instead met with warnings from officials urging devotees to stay away from the main bathing area. Over loudspeakers, festival staff urged pilgrims to cooperate with security personnel and avoid crowding the riverside.

Local government official Akanksha Rana said the stampede began after the collapse of some crowd control barriers. Pilgrim Malti Pandey, who was among the devotees making their way to the river, described the sudden rush and chaos, saying many people were crushed as the crowd surged forward. Fear spread among attendees, prompting many to leave the festival site early. Sanjay Nishad, one of the attendees, said his family was frightened by the incident and decided to leave.

Stampedes and crowd crushes have long been a recurring tragedy at Indian religious festivals, and the Kumbh Mela has witnessed several deadly incidents in the past. In 1954, more than 400 people died in a single-day stampede at the festival, while in 2013, 36 people were crushed to death at Prayagraj’s railway station during the event.

Despite extensive security measures, including hundreds of surveillance cameras, overhead drones, and a command control center to monitor crowd density, the latest incident raises concerns about the effectiveness of crowd management at the festival. This year’s Kumbh Mela is expected to attract up to 400 million pilgrims before it concludes on February 26.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *