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 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.

PRAYAGRAJ- At least 30 people were killed and dozens more injured in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in here on January 29. The incident occurred as millions of Hindu pilgrims gathered to take a holy dip at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.