A stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering killed at least 15 people with many more injured, a doctor at the Kumbh Mela festival in northern India told AFP Wednesday.
Deadly crowd accidents are frequent occurrence at Indian religious festivals, including the Kumbh Mela, which attracts throngs of devotees every 12 years to the city of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh.
The six-week festival is the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar, and millions of people had travelled there to take a dip in the confluence of holy rivers.
Pilgrim Renu Devi, 48, told AFP that a huge crowd was moving down a promenade to reach the rivers abutting the festival site.
“I was sitting near a barricade, and during the pushing and shoving, the entire crowd fell on top of me, trampling me as it moved forward,” she added.
“When the crowd surged, elderly people and women were crushed, and no one came forward to help.”
Rescue teams working with pilgrims to carry victims from the accident site weaved through piles of clothes, shoes and other discarded belongings.
Police were seen carrying stretchers bearing the bodies of victims draped with thick blankets.
“At least 15 people” were killed, a doctor at a hospital tending to survivors told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to media.
Authorities have yet to officially confirm any deaths in the stampede, which took place around 1:00 am (1930 GMT Tuesday).
– ‘Please cooperate’ –
Dozens of relatives were anxiously waiting for news outside a large tent serving as a purpose-built hospital for the festival around one kilometre (half a mile) from the accident.
Wednesday marks one of the holiest days in the festival, when saffron-clad holy men lead millions in a procession of sin-cleansing ritual bathing at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.
Instead, officials were strolling the festival with loudhailers pleading with pilgrims to keep away from the disaster site and bathe at other sections of the river.
“We humbly request all devotees do not come to the main bathing spot,” said one festival staffer, his voice crackling through his megaphone.
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