Stampede at Maha Kumbh Mela Leaves 30 Dead, 60 Injured

Unfazed devotees shrug off stampede at India mega-festival

by Bhuvan BAGGA and Devesh MISHRAThrongs of devotees at the world's biggest religious gathering bathed in Indian rivers on Thursday, undeterred by a stampede a day earlier that killed at least 30 people.The Kumbh Mela attracts tens of millions of Hindu faithful every 12 years to the northern city of Prayagraj, but has a record of deadly crowd incidents. Wednesday's pre-dawn disaster, which saw a surging crowd spill out of a police cordon and tra…

Cardinal Gracias: Stampede in India caused ‘suffering and trauma’ to families

MUMBAI, India – A stampede in India’s Uttar Pradesh state that killed at least 30 people is “very, very tragic,” says Cardinal Oswald Gracias. The incident happened as people celebrated the Hindu festival of Maha Kumbh Mela, which is taking place in northern India’s Prayagraj city, where the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers converge. The religious event takes place every 12 years and lasts six weeks and began earlier this month. It is estimat…

Millions of Hindus take 'holy dip' a day after fatal stampede

Millions of devout Hindus thronged the northern Indian city of Prayagraj on Thursday for the Maha Kumbh festival, a day after dozens died in a stampede on the most auspicious day of the six-week event.

Maha Kumbh Stampede: What Went Wrong & Who is to Blame?

For Rajasthan's Ranveer Singh, who arrived at Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on 19 January, the holy 'snan' at the Maha Kumbh Mela had been nothing short of a series of battles.It began with mortgaging his cow to raise sufficient funds for bringing his aging mother, wife Urmila, and a six-year-old child from Bikaner to Prayagraj. Upon arriving at the site, he was greeted by a sea of floating heads, some with turbans, some without, many in ‘ghunghat’.…