The late release of casualty figures at the gathering of millions of people was seen as shielding the political fortunes of a local leader with national aspirations.

Grieving families cremated their loved ones while others cared for their injured relatives in hospitals on Thursday, a day after a stampede killed at least 30 people and injured 60 others on a riverbank at the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India.

PRAYAGRAJ, India — At least 30 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering early Wednesday, police said, as millions of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred waters during the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India.

At least 17 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at India's Maha Kumbh festival, the world's largest religious gathering, a doctor at a government hospital said, as tens of thousands of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred river waters during the Hindu event.

Devotees walk from a pontoon bridge after a deadly stampede before the second "Shahi Snan" (royal bath) at the "Maha Kumbh Mela", or the Great Pitcher Festival, in Prayagraj, previously known as Allahabad, India, January 29, 2025. REUTERS/Sharafat Ali

A crowd crush at a Hindu festival in northern India has left at least 11 people dead and more than 50 injured, local media reported, citing hospital sources. The stampede at the the Kumbh Mela — the world’s largest religious gathering — in Uttar Pradesh state occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning,

Dozens of worshippers are feared dead and many more injured following a stampede or crush Wednesday at the massive Kumbh Mela religious festival in northern India, according to officials.