What is the Maha Kumbh Mela and why does it attract millions of Hindus? - Officials had been preparing for months for the world’s largest religious festival, with around 400 million Hindu pilgrims exp

More than seven people were killed in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela, or Great Pitcher Festival, in the northern Indian holy city of Prayagraj on Wednesday.

Authorities say that at least 30 people have died and a further 60 were injured in a crowd crush at the massive Kumbh Mela festival in India. The world's biggest religious festival and humanity's largest gathering,

The deadly stampede at the Mahakumbh Mela 2025 highlights the ongoing challenges of crowd management during large religious gatherings in India.

The Kumbh Mela is held every three years in four cities on the banks of sacred rivers across India. Devout Hindus believe that immersion in the sacred rivers absolves people of sins, and such dips during the Kumbh Mela also bring salvation from the cycle of life and death.

A senior police officer said at least 30 people died as a crowd panicked at the Hindu Kumbh Mela mega-festival in the northern city of Prayagraj.

The Kumbh Mela happens every 12 years at Sangam, the confluence of three sacred rivers - the Ganges (Ganga), Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. Hindus believe that bathing in the sacred waters will cleanse them of sins and help them attain salvation.

Stampede breaks out at Kumbh festival in India

The Hindu festival that turned deadly in northern India on Wednesday is a religious gathering with deep spiritual meaning for devotees who come by the millions to take a cleansing dip in waters they consider sacred.