A stampede on Wednesday (Jan 29) at the world’s largest religious gathering has resulted in multiple casualties, according to an AFP photographer at the scene at India’s Kumbh Mela festival.
The photographer saw rescuers and worshippers evacuating victims from the scene, while a local official told Indian media outlets that multiple people had been hospitalised after the incident in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The “stampede-like situation” and the massive number of people made it difficult for the administration to manage and control, the Hindustan Times reported.
The number of injuries is yet to be confirmed. Ambulances took the injured to a makeshift hospital, according to reports.
Public announcements asking devotees to vacate the area are also being made.
Held every 12 years, the Maha Kumbh Mela or Great Pitcher Festival, as the religious event in the city of Prayagraj in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh is called, attracts more than 400 million visitors.
