PRAYAGRAJ, India — The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, where the Maha Kumbh Mela religious festival is underway, said Wednesday that the situation was “under control” after a stampede left at least seven people dead and about 10 others injured.
“Proper treatment facilities have been ensured for victims with serious injuries,” Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said.
The stampede took place between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. local time (7:30-8:30 p.m. GMT Tuesday) near an area designated for ascetics, where barricades had been set up to control crowds during a ritual bath, Adityanath said.
Tens of millions of pilgrims had gathered in the city of Prayagraj, in Uttar Pradesh, for what was considered the most auspicious day of the six-week Hindu festival.
Witnesses described a surge of people near the confluence of three sacred rivers—the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical, invisible Saraswati—causing devotees to fall onto one another. A dip in these waters is believed to cleanse sins, and during the Kumbh Mela, it is thought to bring salvation from the cycle of life and death.
