At least 30 people were killed in a stampede at India's Maha Kumbh festival as millions of people turned out for the religious gathering to offer their prayers by the riverbanks of the northern city of Prayagraj, authorities said on Wednesday.

In addition, at least 60 visitors were injured when devotees rushed to bathe in a sacred river.

"Some people have got injured and have been hospitalized after a barrier broke at the Sangam," news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted an official on duty, Akanksha Rana, as saying. 

State police put death toll at 30

Senior police officer Vaibhav Krishna told reporters that 90 people were taken to the hospital after the stampede, of whom 30 had died.

The AFP news agency reported at least 15 people were killed and many more injured after a surging crowd spilled out of a police cordon and trampled bystanders. 

The Reuters news agency cited police sources as saying that nearly 40 people had been killed.

Videos and photographs show distraught family members waiting outside makeshift hospitals, and clothes, bags, and jackets strewn across the ground at the site of the chaotic crush.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had been briefed on the situation, PTI news agency reported.

"All of you should follow the instructions of the administration and cooperate in making arrangements. People are bathing peacefully at all ghats (river banks) of Sangam (the confluence of the rivers)," Adityanath said on X.

Kumbh Mela is biggest gathering of humanity in the world

The Kumbh Mela is the biggest gathering of humanity in the world — where families, devotees, and elderly pilgrims gather at the meeting point of rivers Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati once every 12 years.

Millions of people bathe in the river waters because they believe the ritual washes away their sins and frees them from the cycle of rebirth.

The 45-day festival is a significant cultural event for India's Hindus, who make up nearly 80% of the country's more than 1.4 billion people.

Heavy influx of devotees on Wednesday

Wednesday was a significant holy day in the festival, with saffron-clad holy men leading millions in a sin-cleansing bathing ritual at the Ganges and Yamuna confluence. 

Despite a stampede, crowds continued to gather, with police urging them to stay away via megaphones.

The Uttar Pradesh state government expected around 100 million devotees to visit the site, officials had said in a press briefing earlier in January.

mk/rm (AP, AFP, Reuters)