Mahakumbh Stampede: Vaibhav Krishna, DIG (Mahakumbh Nagar), Uttar Pradesh Police, on Wednesday held a press conference hours after a stampede at the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj. The police said 30 people have lost their lives in today’s incident, while 60 devotees got injured.
“30 people have lost their lives in the Mahakumbh stampede that took place between 1-2 am. 25 people have been identified, and the identification of the remaining 5 is being done,” the DIG Mahakumbh Nagar said.
“Out of these (30 deceased), 25 have been identified while the remaining five are yet to be identified. Some of these are from other states too. Four from Karnataka, one from Assam, one from Gujarat. Some injured devotees have been taken away by their relatives. Injured are undergoing treatment at the local medical college. For the convenience of devotees, Mela administration has issued helpline number 1920,” said Krishna.
What has triggered a tragic incident?
According to the DIG, the area around the Akhada was barricaded, and these barricades were broken by the influx of people causing the stampede. “A few barricades were broken due to over flow of the people in the Akhada area. People were lying down there waiting for ‘brahmamuhurta’ for Amrit Snan. The crowd ran over them,” he added.
Tragedy at Mahakumbh extremely saddening: PM Modi
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his deepest condolences to the devotees who lost their family members in the stampede at the Mahakumbh, describing the tragedy as extremely saddening.
In a post on X, he said the local administration in Prayagraj is giving all possible help to the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
He said, “I have been speaking to Chief Minister Yogi ji and am in constant touch with the state government.”
A stampede broke out in the Sangam area of the Mahakumbh early Wednesday as crores of pilgrims jostled for space to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya.
