15 dead in India stampede at Hindu mega-festival

15 Dead In India Stampede At Hindu Mega Festival

Devotees walk as they leave after a deadly stampede before the second 'Shahi Snan' (royal bath) at the 'Maha Kumbh Mela' or the Great Pitcher Festival, in Prayagraj, India, Jan. 29. Reuters-Yonhap

Devotees stroll as they go away after a lethal stampede earlier than the second „Shahi Snan“ (royal bathtub) on the „Maha Kumbh Mela“ or the Nice Pitcher Pageant, in Prayagraj, India, Jan. 29. Reuters-Yonhap

A pre-dawn stampede on the world’s largest spiritual gathering killed not less than 15 folks in India Wednesday, with many extra injured after a surging crowd spilled out of a police cordon and trampled bystanders.

Lethal crowd incidents are frequent incidence at Indian spiritual festivals, together with the Kumbh Mela, which attracts tens of thousands and thousands of devotees each 12 years to the northern metropolis of Prayagraj.

As pilgrims rushed to take part in a sacred day of formality bathing, folks sleeping and sitting on the bottom close to the rivers informed AFP they have been trampled by large swells of devotees coming in the direction of them within the darkness.

„I used to be sitting close to a barricade, and in the course of the pushing and shoving, your complete crowd fell on prime of me, trampling me because it moved ahead,“ Pilgrim Renu Devi, 48, informed AFP.

„When the gang surged, aged folks and girls have been crushed, and nobody got here ahead to assist.“

Rescue groups carrying victims from the accident website weaved by piles of garments, footwear and different discarded belongings.

Police have been seen carrying stretchers bearing the our bodies of victims draped with thick blankets.

„No less than 15 folks“ have been killed with dozens extra injured, a physician at a hospital tending to survivors informed AFP, talking on situation of anonymity as they weren’t authorised to speak to media.

Authorities have but to formally affirm the variety of useless within the stampede, which occurred round 1:00 am (native time).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned the accident was „extraordinarily unhappy“ and supplied his „deepest condolences“ to kin of these killed.

„I want for the speedy restoration of all injured,“ he added.

Dozens of kin have been anxiously ready for information exterior a big tent serving as a purpose-built hospital for the competition round one kilometre (0.6 miles) from the catastrophe website.

‚Please cooperate‘

The six-week Kumbh Mela is the only largest milestone on the Hindu spiritual calendar.

Wednesday marks one of many holiest days within the competition, when saffron-clad holy males lead thousands and thousands in a sin-cleansing ritual of bathing on the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.

As a substitute, officers have been strolling the competition with loudhailers pleading with pilgrims to avoid the catastrophe website and bathe at different places.

„We humbly request all devotees don’t come to the principle bathing spot,“ mentioned one competition staffer, his voice crackling by his megaphone.

„Please cooperate with safety personnel.“

The Uttar Pradesh state authorities, accountable for staging the competition, mentioned thousands and thousands had already bathed within the waterways between midnight and the early morning.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath informed reporters that medical staff have been treating these critically injured within the crush, including that the state of affairs was „underneath management.“

Indian opposition chief Rahul Gandhi blamed the catastrophe on poor crowd administration that prioritised the consolation of distinguished pilgrims.

„Mismanagement and the administration’s particular give attention to VIP motion as an alternative of frequent devotees are accountable for this tragic incident,“ he wrote on social media.

Pilgrims gather to take a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, on the occasion of 'Mauni Amavasya' during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj, Jan. 29. AFP-Yonhap

Pilgrims collect to take a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and legendary Saraswati rivers, on the event of ‚Mauni Amavasya‘ in the course of the Maha Kumbh Mela competition in Prayagraj, Jan. 29. AFP-Yonhap

‚My household acquired scared‘

Railway official Manish Kumar mentioned quite a few particular practice providers scheduled to move pilgrims had been halted resulting from large crowding at Prayagraj.

Some devotees determined to make an early exit from the town.

„I heard the information and noticed the washing website,“ attendee Sanjay Nishad informed AFP.

„My household acquired scared, so we’re leaving.“ The Kumbh Mela is rooted in Hindu mythology, a battle between deities and demons for management of a pitcher containing the nectar of immortality.

Organisers have likened the dimensions of this yr’s competition to that of a brief nation, forecasting as much as 400 million pilgrims would go to earlier than the ultimate day on Feb. 26.

Aware of the danger of lethal crowd accidents, police this yr put in a whole lot of cameras on the competition website and on roads resulting in the sprawling encampment, mounted on poles and a fleet of overhead drones.

The surveillance community is fed into a classy command and management centre that’s meant to alert employees if sections of the gang get so concentrated that they pose a security risk.

Greater than 400 folks died after they have been trampled or drowned on the Kumbh Mela on a single day of the competition in 1954, one of many largest tolls in a crowd-related catastrophe globally.

One other 36 folks have been crushed to demise in 2013, the final time the competition was staged within the northern metropolis of Prayagraj. (AFP)

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