Bodies, clothes, bags lie on ground after stampede at mass Hindu gathering in India


Security personnel assist a person after a stampede before the second "Shahi Snan" (grand bath) at the "Kumbh Mela" or the Pitcher Festival, in Prayagraj, previously known as Allahabad, India, January 29, 2025. REUTERS/Sharafat Ali

LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - Bodies, clothes and bags lay scattered on the ground after a deadly stampede at the world's largest gathering of humanity, the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India, on one of the most auspicious days in Hinduism.

Witnesses described a mass of people rushing to take a pre-dawn dip at the confluence of the three sacred rivers - the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the mythical, invisible Saraswati, at Prayagraj, which Hindus believe absolves them of all sins and frees them from the circle of life and death.

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