At least seven people were killed and around 10 injured in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India on Wednesday, said an official, as tens of millions gathered to take a holy dip on the most auspicious day of the six-week Hindu festival.

The stampede occurred between 1 am and 2 am (1930-2030 GMT Tuesday) near the arena of the ascetics, where barricades had been put up to manage crowds during their holy dip, said Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state where the festival city of Prayagraj is located.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X, offered condolences to “devotees who have lost their loves ones”, but did not specify the number of dead.

“The local administration is engaged in helping the victims in every possible way”, he said.

Adityanath added that the situation was under control but the crowd was still massive.

A senior state official said “more than seven people have been killed in the stampede and around 10 others injured”. The official did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Videos and photographs after the stampede showed bodies being taken away on stretchers and people sitting on the ground crying, while others stepped over clothes, shoes, backpacks and blankets left by those trying to escape the crush.

A Reuters witness saw several dead bodies as he followed dozens of ambulances rushing towards the river bank where the incident occurred.

Witnesses spoke of a huge push near the confluence of three holy rivers - where a dip is considered particularly sacred - that caused devotees to fall on each other. Chief Minister Adityanath urged people to avoid the area.

“We had barricades in front of us and police with batons on the other side. The push from behind was very powerful...people started falling,” said Vijay Kumar, who came for the festival from the eastern city of Patna.

“There were people lying all around, I don’t know if they were dead or alive.”

A woman who was part of the crowd but did not give her name told news agency ANI that people “kept stepping” on her mother and her when they fell.

“I am safe but my mother has died,” she said.

Opposition Parties Blame ‘Mismanagement’

The Hindu festival is the world's largest congregation of humanity, attracting some 400 million over its six weeks compared with the Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia which drew 1.8 million last year. By Tuesday nearly 200 million people have attended the 2025 festival since it started two weeks ago.

Devout Hindus believe taking a dip at the confluence of three sacred rivers - the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the mythical, invisible Saraswati - absolves people of sins, and during the Kumbh, it also brings salvation from the cycle of life and death.

More than 36 million people had taken a holy dip on Wednesday by 10 am, said officials.

Attendees range from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah to Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and celebrities like Coldplay's Chris Martin and actress Dakota Johnson, who local media reported reached Prayagraj on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was expected to visit the festival next month.

Authorities had expected a record 100 million people to throng the temporary township in Prayagraj on Wednesday, and had deployed additional security and medical personnel along with AI-software based technology to manage the crowd.

A Rapid Action Force (RAF) - a special police unit called in during crisis - was deployed to bring the situation under control and rescue efforts were underway, officials said.

Opposition parties criticised the federal and state governments and blamed the stampede on what they called “mismanagement” and “VIP culture”.

“VIP culture should be curbed and the government should make better arrangements to meet the needs of common devotees,” Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party said on X, referring to politicians and celebrities being treated differently.

A similar stampede had broken out on the most auspicious day of the festival when it was last held in 2013, killing at least 36 pilgrims, mostly women.

A policeman escorts a devotee after a stampede before the second “Shahi Snan” (royal bath) at the “Maha Kumbh Mela” or the Great Pitcher Festival, in Prayagraj, India, January 29, 2025.