Kumbh Mela: Worshippers feared killed in crowd crush at huge Indian religious festival

Samira Hussain
Reporting from Prayagraj

Image source, Getty Images

It was absolute chaos at the river bank. People’s belongings, clothes, shoes, blankets and backpacks were strewn all around. Listless bodies could be seen among the discarded belongings.

There was an information vacuum, no-one knew what had happened or what was going on.

I saw one woman walking in front of a stretcher in tears, clearly bereft. Another man walked beside a stretcher, trying to cover the body with a shawl.

This all happened at the main bathing point. Exactly where officials knew the most number of people would converge especially on this bathing day.

Serious questions will be asked about what went wrong.

As of now, officials are not confirming the number of dead or injured.