At least 15 die in stampede at India’s Kumbh Mela festival

Deadly crowd crushes are a notorious feature of Indian religious festivals and the Kumbh Mela, with its unfathomable throngs of devotees, already had a grim track record before the latest incident in the early hours of the morning.

Video and photographs after the stampede showed bodies being stretchered away, people sitting on the ground crying, while others stepped over a carpet of discarded belongings left by people as they tried to escape the stampede.

The six-week festival is the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar, and millions of people had been expected to participate in a sacred day of ritual bathing on Wednesday.

“At least 15 people have died for now. Others are being treated,” said the doctor at the festival site in Prayagraj, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to media.

Rescue teams were seen working with pilgrims to carry victims away from the site of the accident over ground strewn with clothes, shoes and other discarded belongings.