A woman reacts after a deadly 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/Adnan Abidi
PRAYAGRAJ, India (Reuters) -Dozens of people were killed in a pre-dawn stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India on Wednesday as tens of millions of Hindus gathered to take a dip in sacred river waters on the most auspicious day of a six-week festival.
Reuters counted 39 bodies in the morgue of the local hospital, where bodies were still being brought in 12 hours after crowds surged towards the confluence of rivers where immersion is considered especially sacred.
