Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Dozens of people are feared to have died in crowd crushes at India’s Kumbh Mela festival, local officials at the scene have said, as vast crowds of people went to bathe at one of the holiest sites of the Hindu gathering. People were crushed in the early hours of Wednesday as tens of millions of people flocked to immerse themselves in the sacred confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, on one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu festival. … More than 400 million people, the biggest crowd in its history, are expected to attend this year’s Kumbh Mela festivities, held over 45 days in Prayagraj in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.” (01/29/25)