Hindu devotees and mystics have gathered in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh festival, which is the largest religious congregation on Earth.

At least 30 people have been killed and dozens more injured in crowd crushes at the Maha Kumbh Mela in India, where millions have gathered to bathe at the confluence of sacred rivers.

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.

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.

Officials had been preparing for months for the world’s largest religious festival, with around 400 million Hindu pilgrims expected to take part