As per a local doctor who chose to stay anonymous, at least 15 people have died, with many more injured as crowd control barriers “broke” amid the massive turnout on Mauni Amavasya.
“At least 15 people have died for now. Others are being treated,” said the doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to the media. Rescuers and worshippers were seen evacuating victims from the scene.
The official death toll is still pending and may be higher or lower than the reported number of deaths.
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What happened?
As per Indian news agency PTI citing officials, a “stampede-like” situation broke out at the Sangam as several people turned up to take the holy dip on Mauni Amavasya.
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“Some people have got injured and have been hospitalised after a barrier broke at the Sangam. We are yet to have the exact count of those injured,” said Akanksha Rana, Officer on Special Duty for the Mela.
Mauni Amavasya is the most significant ritual of the Maha Kumbh, and as per estimates, the number of pilgrims can go up to 100 million (10 crores) in just one day.
The state government on Tuesday (Jan 28) said that already over 150 million devotees have taken a holy dip in the waters of Triveni Sangam, where the holy Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers meet.
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‘There was no chance of escape’
Speaking to PTI, a pilgrim identified as Sarojini recalled the chaos and said, “There was no chance for escape.”
The woman, a pilgrim from India’s southern state of Karnataka, told the news agency that she was part of a batch of 60 people, all of whom got “trapped” in the “uncontrolled” crowd.
“We came in a batch of 60 people in two buses, we were nine people in the group. Suddenly there was pushing in the crowd, and we got trapped. A lot of us fell down, and the crowd became uncontrolled,
Source :The WION net work