Moments before a deadly stampede at the world's biggest religious gathering in India, Hindu devotees queuing to take a spiritual bath in a river said they pleaded with police to open barricaded routes to thin out a surging crowd.

PRAYAGRAJ, India — At least 30 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering early Wednesday, police said, as millions of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred waters during the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India.

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.

Indian authorities have ordered a probe into the stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela Hindu festival that killed dozens of devotees on Wednesday as millions gathered for a "holy dip" in sacred river waters as part of the six-week event,

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.

Devotees walk from a pontoon bridge after a deadly stampede before the second "Shahi Snan" (royal bath) at the "Maha Kumbh Mela", or the Great Pitcher Festival, in Prayagraj, previously known as Allahabad, India, January 29, 2025. REUTERS/Sharafat Ali

A tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India has left several people dead and many others injured.