Thirty killed in Crush at the Kumbh Mela Festival in India

At least 30 people They have been killed in a crush at the world’s largest religious meeting, the Kumbh Mela Hindu festival in northern India, authorities say.

The incident took early on Wednesday when devotees on the banks of the river in the city of Prayagraj were trampled by other pilgrims running to participate in a sacred day of ritual bath.

Another 60 people were injured, police said. He took most of the day for official victims figures to arise, which led the leaders of the opposition to accuse the lack of transparency.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to those who lost loved ones. Many pilgrims still look for news from family and friends.

Police said 90 injured people had been taken to hospitals. “Unfortunately, 30 of those devotees have died,” Vaibhav Krishna told a press conference on Wednesday night.

He said 25 of the dead had been identified.

Early in the day, the BBC reporters had witnessed chaos scenes, with clothing, shoes, blankets and backpacks scattered on the ground while the crowds tried to escape from the accident site.

“People were in all directions,” said an ocular witness Ayesha Mishra to the BBC. “They were being pushed and falling. The children were being crushed by the crowds.”

The videos and photos of the scene showed people on the floor, their bodies and bruises covered with mud. Some were being taken on stretchers, since the ambulances enter and leave the extensive city of tents prepared for the event.

For hours there was confusion about the number of people who had died or were injured.

The main hospital was cordoned off and journalists prohibited entrance. Yogi Adityanath, the Prime Minister of Uttar Pradesh, where Prayagraj is located, spoke of serious injuries, but did not mention the deaths.

Prime Minister Modi acknowledged that there had been deaths, but he didn’t say how many.

“I want the rapid recovery of all injured,” he said in an X publication, qualifying the “extremely sad” incident.

The news of the accident did little to discourage the huge crowds that crowded the place, rather than According to government figures, 50 million had bathed at 14:00 local time (08: 30gmt), according to government figures.

The Kumbh Mela occurs every 12 years in Sangam, the confluence of three sacred rivers: the Ganges (Ganga), Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. The Hindus believe that bathing in the sacred waters will clean them from sins and help them achieve salvation.

Although the sacred bath is the main raffle, the event is also a vibrant carnival of faith, where people from all areas of life, including ascetics, politicians and celebrities, converge to celebrate.

The crowds throughout the country, and the world, have been arriving in Prayagraj to participate in the festival that began on January 13 and will continue until February 26. Some have come alone, others with their family, including children and the elderly.

Wednesday was the largest and most important bathroom of the festival, with officials who estimated crowds of up to 100 million people. It is also the day of the Shahi Snan, or the real bath, which sees thousands of ash with ashes damaged by the river.

By Tuesday night, the crowds had already begun to swell and an air of jubilation wrapped the place. The ecstatic devotees sang and danced in large and colorful processions. And people were anxious to take a dip the next morning.

But the celebrations soon became a moment of horror.

The news of the falling was broken for the first time between 01:00 and 02:00 local time (19: 30-20: 30 GMT) when many ambulances were seen entering and leaving the place.

The eyewitnesses told the BBC that the devotees had been sleeping around the barricades of Sangam’s nose, the river confluence point, when the crowd headed towards them, which led to the falling in love.

People began to run confusion, many of them injured. Others had their torn clothes.

“The crowds were so great that people trampled to each other. I and my family, all fell to us,” said Poonam Singh, a devotee, who came with seven relatives, all of whom were missing.

“I lost all my money, my belongings and I can’t find my family anywhere,” he added.

The uncertainty about what had happened was added to chaos. Many devotees said they felt that something was wrong, but decided to proceed anyway, since there was no confirmation of the authorities about the situation.

The first ads were made around 04:00, when officials began asking people to stop going to Sangam’s nose and, instead, immersed themselves on the shore of the nearest river they could find.

But that did not change much, by then, the roads that lead to Sangam were already full.

Tens of thousands of people continued to continue, and they were still doing it, hours after the accident.

The ascetics had said previously that they would cancel their appearance, but then went to bathe in Sangam, although with their reduced processions.

For many pilgrims, the search for loved ones spread during the day and continued until night. Many remained at the accident site, where the shoes, clothes and other belongings of the victims lay mud covers. Occasional screams of those afflicted crossed the shock.

Anita Devi, from the central city of Jhansi, said she had spent all morning looking for her husband.

“He needs his medications, but they are with me. When the crush happened, I lost his hand and he left in the blink of an eye,” he told the BBC.

“Many hours have passed, but I can’t find it. This year there are so many lost and found centers that I don’t know where I could have gone. I’m praying strongly to be alive and sure.”

The love of the crowd are common in India, where there is frequent overcrowding in religious events, festivals and public spaces. Last year, more than 120 people were killed in the Hathras district, also in Uttar Pradesh, during a religious meeting.

The authorities say that the situation in the Kumbh Mela is now under control. But Indian opposition leaders have criticized the Government for falling in love.

“The special approach to poor management, poor management and administration in the VIP movement instead of common devotees are responsible for this tragic incident,” said Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition in Parliament, in a publication on X , describing the “extremely sad” incident.

Some pilgrims also blame the authorities for the disaster.

Ayesha Mishra questioned why there was no police presence where the crush occurred.

“They were standing towards the end of the festival’s place, while many of us were crushed in the middle,” he said.

“We don’t want to give a sacred sauce like this,” he added. “The government should ask people to stay at home at this time.”