Disaster at India’s Kumbh Mela: 15 Killed in Stampede at the World’s Biggest Religious Event
INDIA – Tragedy struck at India’s Kumbh Mela festival, as a deadly stampede claimed the lives of 15 people at the world’s largest religious gathering.
At least 15 people were killed and many others injured in a tragic stampede at the Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj, India, the world’s largest religious gathering. Based on a report from Inquirer, the incident occurred on Wednesday during a sacred ritual bathing at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, an event that attracts millions of Hindu devotees.
While the exact cause of the stampede remains under investigation, local officials reported that the chaos began after crowd control barriers were broken, causing a surge of people.
The Kumbh Mela is a six-week festival that holds immense significance in the Hindu religious calendar. On Wednesday, millions of pilgrims had gathered for one of the most important days of the festival, a sacred bathing ritual known as “Shahi Snan.” Unfortunately, crowd surges and deadly stampedes have been a recurring problem at the festival due to the overwhelming number of attendees. The latest incident adds to the grim history of such accidents at the event, which has seen similar tragedies in previous years.
According to a doctor at the scene, the death toll was confirmed at 15, with many others receiving medical treatment for injuries. Rescue teams were seen working alongside pilgrims to assist victims and carry them away from the site of the stampede. One witness, pilgrim Malti Pandey, described how the crowd suddenly began to push, resulting in many people being crushed.
The Kumbh Mela, rooted in Hindu mythology, symbolizes a battle between deities and demons over the nectar of immortality. This year’s festival is expected to see up to 400 million pilgrims visiting before it ends on February 26. Due to the high risk of crowd accidents, authorities took extra precautions, installing hundreds of cameras and deploying drones to monitor the vast site. The surveillance system feeds into a command center, which aims to detect dangerous crowd concentrations and prevent further incidents. Despite these efforts, the festival’s scale and the sheer number of attendees continue to pose significant safety challenges.
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