India festival stampede

In Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, northern India, 30 people were killed on Feb. 10 in a panic stampede during the 2013 Kumbh Mela festival. It occurred when a train was delayed at a station and there was a rush on the steps leading to platform No. 6, which could hold only a few thousand people.

The Kumbh Mela is a Hindu festival that takes place every 12 years on the banks of the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. Bathing in the waters is a holy rite through which sins are forgiven and blessings conveyed for generations. The festival is popular with pilgrims as well as tourists.

For festival goers, a tent city is erected on the riverbanks, and drinking water, toilets, electricity and health care are provided. There is even a police station, fire station and post office. About 10 million people had camped in Allahabad on Saturday night, Feb. 9, and 20 to 30 million more arrived to bathe there before Monday. A total of 80 million pilgrims were expected during the 55 days of this year’s festival, Jan. 14-March 10.

The number of people attending Kumbh Mela has increased each year. In 2001 there were 40 million. The 2013 attendance was expected to break the record for the largest gathering on Earth. In comparison, attendance at the 2012 Hajj to Mecca (Oct. 24-29) was 3.4 million, and at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, 6.8 million tickets were sold.