Hindu devotees have sacred marks reading 'Radhe' on their foreheads at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the Saraswati rivers during the 45-day-long Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Credit: AP/Ashwini Bhatia

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.

People were trampled as pilgrims at the Maha Kumbh Mela, one of the world’s biggest gatherings, gathered where the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers meet.

Several people are feared dead and many more injured as tens of thousands of Hindus rushed to take a holy bath in the river at the massive Maha Kumbh festival in India.

Hindu devotees, mystics and holy men and women have gathered in India's northern city of Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh festival, the world's largest religious gathering.

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 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. Tens of millions of people flocked to the northern state of Uttar Pradesh to immerse themselves in the water at the sacred confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers on one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu festival.