On Tuesday night in Prayagraj, the pressure from the crowd at the Maha Kumbh skyrocketed, resulting in a chaotic stampede. So far, reports have confirmed the death of about 10 people and injuries to seven others. The injured have been admitted to the hospital set up in Sector 2 of the Kumbh area.
'My mother got trampled to death....'
Some witnesses at the scene shared their experiences with Aaj Tak. Suraj Yadav, from Aurangabad, described, 'A group of 12-13 of us came for a holy bath in the Ganges and in the chaos, my mother got trampled to death.'
'My wife died, I was trapped under the crowd for half an hour...'
Phoolchand Vishkarma, who lost his wife in the tragedy, recounted, 'We had just finished bathing in the Ganges when the gate opened from another side. People were trampling over each other. My wife died, and I was crushed under the crowd for half an hour.'
'People were falling over each other, nobody could get up'
Vinay Kumar from Aurangabad added, 'Some folks were heading towards the ghat, others started turning back. When pushed by those trying to go ahead, no one could get out. There was no police presence at that spot. As the crowd surged, people fell over one another and were trampled to death.'
What caused the disaster at the Maha Kumbh?
On Mauni Amavasya night at 2 AM, a massive crowd of devotees flooded the banks of the Sangam for the ritual bath, causing a barricade to collapse and resulting in a stampede. Within moments, the situation spiraled out of control, and people began scattering. Devotees' belongings fell, leading to widespread chaos as they stumbled over one another.
An eyewitness described, 'We were walking peacefully when suddenly the crowd surged, and people started jostling. We tried to escape, but there was no space. It was complete chaos; many were injured, and we weren't sure what was happening.'
Outside the mortuary gate at the Prayagraj Medical College, grieving family members wept and lamented the loss of their loved ones.
Once the stampede information reached the authorities late at night, police, paramilitary forces, and fire brigade teams arrived promptly. A fire service all-terrain vehicle that was already present in the area assisted in the rescue of numerous injured individuals.
So far, 199.4 million have taken a dip in the Ganges
According to government data, since the Maha Kumbh commenced on January 13th, nearly 199.4 million people have bathed in the Ganges. An expected over 100 million devotees were anticipated on Mauni Amavasya alone. This incident, however, has changed the situation to some extent.
The fervor for bathing on Mauni Amavasya has again made Kumbh Nagar the most populated district in the world. Prayagraj's population surpassed 50 million, with 46.4 million devotees having bathed by 6 PM on Tuesday, setting a new record. Including the district's population of approximately 7 million, Prayagraj recorded a single-day attendance of 53.4 million.
