Families in India hold cremation ceremonies for relatives who died in a stampede during a religious festival

After a stampede at the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India, grieving families cremated their loved ones while others cared for the injured in hospitals. At least 30 people lost their lives, and 60 others were injured in the tragic incident that occurred on a riverbank in Prayagraj.

The Uttar Pradesh state government took immediate action by appointing a retired judge to investigate the stampede. The judge has been tasked with submitting his findings within a month. Despite the unfortunate event, millions of Hindus continued with the bathing ritual, which is a significant part of the ongoing festival.

A woman wept uncontrollably as an ambulance left a hospital mortuary for the cremation site.

One of the survivors, Sharvan Kumar Chaudhary, shared his experience from his hospital bed. He recounted, “I fell during the stampede. I was with a friend who brought me here.” The hospital staff worked tirelessly to care for the injured pilgrims, providing them with the necessary medical attention and support.

Rakesh, who uses one name, is searching for missing family members who came on the pilgrimage without him.

“My wife, aunt, and children came for a bath, and they have been missing since the Jan. 28 evening,” he said.

Witnesses said that religious chants turned to screams and cries for help as thousands of pilgrims rushing to a sacred river confluence jumped barricades erected for a procession of holy men in Prayagraj, trampling those waiting for their turn to bathe in the river.

Wednesday was a sacred day in the six-week Hindu festival, and authorities expected a record 100 million devotees to engage in a ritual bath at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the Saraswati rivers. Hindus believe that a dip at the holy site can cleanse them of past sins and end the process of reincarnation.

Nearly 400 million people are expected in Prayagraj for the festival over 45 days, making it the world’s largest religious gathering. The number of people is more than the population of the United States and around 200 times the 2 million pilgrims who were in Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage last year. The festival started on Jan. 13.